Behind It All
by xLaurenmx
Summary: Sets off when Jac and Michael are sent on GS/CT project in Miami, Florida. The project and their vacation seems to be going well, but how does this make Michael feel? What feelings are evoked in Jac? What lies behind it all?
1. Adjustments

**_So this fic takes off from Chapter 13 of my other fic Past No More, it can be read separately but if you havent read that chapter, I recommend you should, to get a better picture of what's going on. Hope you enjoy this one. All reviews are appreciated. _**

**_Please note: in this fic, Jac is not in a relationship with Jonny and has no kids. Thanks xx_**

"Let's get this over with!" Jac said unpleasantly as they made their way towards the hospital, breathing the fresh air of Miami, Florida. They had just arrived that morning, all they managed to do was check in at the hotel.

"Come on Jac, we make a great team!" Michael replied, smiling, smartly dressed in a suit, holding his briefcase as he walked on the pavement by Jac's side. Jac also wanted to look her best, in her elegant grey suit and usual black handbag. They had to make a good impression. They were two important surgeons sent from Holby City Hospital as part of the GS/CT team. Their project turned out to be a huge success at Holby, a success indeed, only this time, they had the chance to show it off, across the Atlantic at St. Philip's Hospital in Miami.

"I'm only doing this for the extra cash and because my reputation is on the line!" Jac added. After their brief encounter at their first conference… well it wasn't actually brief, was it? This brought back too many memories. Working with Michael again on this project obviously didn't help. She only decided to remain part of the team, simply because it was a good deal for her job. Her CT consultant job meant everything to her, it was her one achievement in life which made her proud of herself.

Michael on the other hand, apologised but soon moved on. He loved working on the project; it was part of his consultant's job which he really loved. Clinical lead on AAU wasn't exactly his favourite. Sacha, Chrissie and all the others were wonderful colleagues, but still, he missed his theatre lists and office days, like he used to have on Keller. He loved it when he was Director of Surgery (DOS); he still dreads the thought up till this day that he screwed that up himself. Working on this project was already a win, obviously he immediately accepted and took the opportunity of visiting his kids while working for a few days in Florida.

The main entrance was like stepping into a hotel, with its huge glass windows and advanced lighting. They both entered the elevator and headed to the allocated ward. The ward had nothing less, the environment made you feel at home. Michael and Jac walked up to the nurses' station and asked for Dr Carver, the clinical lead of the ward.

"She'll be right with you… you may take a seat if you like," the nurse behind the desk informed them.

"It's fine, we'll wait, thank you," Michael replied, being polite in his American accent. Jac felt a bit strange; everyone around her was talking American, to her this was something different.

After a few moments of looking all over the place, they soon heard heels making a loud sound against the ward floors. This sight soon caught their eye, especially Michael's attention. A few paces away, they saw a tall, slim, lady walking towards them, holding a few files in her arm and a latte in the same hand, while talking to someone on the phone, holding it with the other. She had tanned skin, as if she had just spent a week in the sun. She showed it off, especially her legs. She wore a black pencil skirt and a matching blazer, complemented by a crème blouse and all her brunette hair tied up in a neat bun.

"I'll let you know... thank you, bye!" she ended the phone as she put her phone away and placed the files on the desk.

"Right…you must be the dream team from the UK…" she said, smiling. "Welcome, I'm Dr Carver." She introduced herself as she held out her hand.

Jac did the same, "Jac Naylor, Cardiothoracic Consultant" she said proudly. Then Michael held out his, "Michael Spence, Consultant General Surgery". Still shaking her hand, she on the other ahead was impressed by his accent.

"Is that an American accent I hear? How come?" she asked curiously.

"Well I'm actually from San Francisco, but my ex-wife was English-born, so I've been in the UK for quite some time now," he replied smiling.

"Ah…ex-wife? That's a shame…" she said smiling at him. They soon realised that their hands were still in each others' and Dr Carver finally let go, in this slightly awkward situation.

"Right...uh…well let me put these in my office, and then I'll be back to show you around, I won't be long." She told them as she took the files in her hands and turned to walk away.

"You know, with that dress sense and power, if she was a little older, I think we have met the second Connie Beauchamp!" Michael told Jac, as he watched her walking down the corridor, especially observing her behind.

"Uh, here we go…" Jac replied as she rolled her eyes, knowing what type of man Michael was.

"What? Are you jealous of your new female boss?" he asked her, smiling, pushing her buttons.

"No, okay? Besides, we're only here for a couple of days, this is gonna work just fine." Jac reassured him.

…

After a busy afternoon at the hospital, they arrived at the hotel and immediately headed to their double suit on the ninth floor. But to their surprise they found the doors to their suite wide open, with two chambermaids cleaning their rooms.

"Uh, what's going on?" Jac asked them, while Michael didn't say a word. "We haven't used the room today, you know." Jac commented implying that there was no need for cleaning the room.

"Oh our hotel manager told me to ask you to go down to reception and have a word…" the maid replied.

"What? Why?" Michael asked, confused.

"I'm sorry, that's all I know," the young girl replied.

So, only holding their pass key, they made their way to reception to get some answers.

"Excuse me, we were asked to consult the receptionist about something going on in our room," Jac asked, she startled the girl behind the desk.

"Room number, please…"

"950," Jac replied as the young girl typed it in her computer.

"Oh right, here you are, Mr Spence and Ms Naylor, you have the double suite… I'm afraid there has been a mix up" she uttered slowly,

"What do you mean by that?" Michael asked politely.

"Well we have a very important guest checking in tonight and we need your suite, you should be aware, yours is one of the most luxurious suites in our hotel…we're very sorry for the inconvenience…our mistake…" she tried to explain.

"Mistake?! And what are we supposed to do? We were here first?" Jac started to lose her temper.

"Yes I know, don't worry this is only for tonight, we are offering you another room for a reduced price, which is the twin room on the same floor… it's not a problem for you two right?" she tried to offer the best solution.

"Listen, sweetheart, don't go on with your American accent and assume anything, we can't share a room, we're here on a business trip, we're not even a couple!" That's it, Jac was losing it.

"Jac, take it easy..." Michael tried to calm her down.

"Well it's the only available room Im afraid... during summer vacation we are always fully-booked, we're so sorry" the young girl tried to tell them clearly that there was nothing she could have done to help them.

"We'll take it…" Michael told the receptionist their final answer.

"What?!" Jac yelled as she turned her head, facing him.

"We'll work something out, thank you." Michael agreed, as he was handed the new pass key to their new room.

Jac stormed off to their old suite. They hadn't unpacked their suitcases that morning so all they had to do was shift their luggage a few feet down the hall.

Michael opened the room, and they placed their suitcases in the hall. Jac noticed the difference; this one was obviously smaller with reduced space.

"So how are we going to sleep?" Michael asked, standing in the middle of the room.

"Well we're certainly not sleeping in one bed together!" Jac exclaimed.

They observed the room, and noticed that there was one double bed and a small sofa by the window.

"Okay, who's taking the sofa?" Michael asked again.

"You even have the guts to ask that question, after you easily agreed we share a twin room?" Jac told him, as she folded her arms.

"well it's not really fair is it? The sofa is a two seater…" Michael replied, implying that the sofa was too small for someone to sleep on, for a whole night.

"I don't care…you agreed to this now deal with it!" Jac told him as she grabbed her suitcase and started to unpack.

"I'll tell you what… we both could sleep in the bed if you like," Michael started as if he got an idea.

"Uh no, okay? I've been there Michael, I'm not going down that road again!" as she turned around and smiled sarcastically at him.

"No, what I meant was, you take one side, I take the other and we can put two pillows in the middle… see? Easy…" Michael sorted things out.

"fine… it's the only way out I guess…" Jac finally agreed; she had no choice.

"oh and by the way, Annalese is gonna drop the kids tomorrow for a fun day out," Michael told her as he too, started unpacking and hanging his couple of suits on hangers.

"great… more peace and quiet for myself then…" Jac replied.

"Uh no…you're coming with us…" he wanted her to come along.

"What? But I was planning to spend my day off at the spa…" Jac was disappointed her plans were going to be ruined.

"Oh come on Jac, we're in Florida! It'll be fun to spend our day off, at the beach! No offense, but you don't really get much sun in England!" Michael joked.

"Pathetic…" Jac mumbled.

"I'm just kidding… seriously though... it'll be fun!" Michael tried to convince her.

"Right…so you want me to play step-mum?" Jac asked him, as she put her stuff in her dresser.

"No I'm not asking you to… we can just enjoy the day together… you know as friends.. please?" Michael seriously wanted her to spend the day with them.

"fine…" Jac finally agreed with a frown. This wasn't on her agenda but Michael was right, a day at the beach in Florida was better than staying be herself at the spa.

…

They had one twin room, obviously they had to share the bathroom and take turns in using the shower. Jac went in first, but just as she was drying herself, she realised she forgot her clean underwear in the room.

She had no choice; all she had was her white towel she just used. So she wrapped it around her body and walked out into the room. Michael didn't expect to see her only in a towel but without saying anything, he entered the ensuite. Jac let him go in the bathroom, then she let go of her towel, exposing her body, and slid up her black underwear. Michael on the other hand, realised they ran out of soap so he had to go in the room again to get some. But just as he made two steps in the bathroom doorway, just poking out his head, he noticed Jac changing. Jac didn't hear him coming out, so she kept on changing. He observed her body closely, suddenly evoking certain feelings he never felt before towards her.

He let her get dressed, and then made noise and walked into the room.

"Uh sorry… need some soap…" he told her, gesturing with the bottle in his hands.

"Yeah, fine…" Jac replied shortly, confused whether he saw something or not.

…

It was getting late. They placed two pillows running down the middle of the bed, as they agreed, and got ready to get to bed. Michael gave Jac a quick look, as he saw her in her nightgown. Also, Jac couldn't help eyeing his naked torso. But both made sure, the other wasn't looking. Michael climbed on one side and Jac did the same on the other side. The both lay back on their back, staring at the ceiling, with pillows between them, preventing any physical contact.

"Goodnight, Jac," Michael commented, breaking the silence in the dark room.

"Goodnight" Jac replied, hoping she would fall asleep quickly, to set free from this awkward moment.

…

The next morning, both pillows were still running down the middle of the bed, just as Jac and Michael had placed them the night before. Jac, being fast asleep, turned over and placed her face on one of these same pillows. Michael soon did the same. Now they were both asleep, facing each other, but with one pillow in between preventing any physical contact. However as Michael turned, he ran his hand over this pillow as if he was hugging it, and soon met Jac's bare thigh. Jac soon felt someone's touch against her skin, and slowly opened her eyes, wondering whether she was dreaming. But she soon realised she wasn't. The first thing she saw was that she and Michael were facing each other, in one bed. Yes that's right… she almost forgot that she was sharing a bed with a colleague she never dreamt of doing so. Startled she quickly turned over her.

"Michael!" she exclaimed she said as she got out of bed, hurriedly. Michael soon woke up. He also felt he touched someone, he just didn't realise that this time was different. This wasn't someone he had spent the night with.

"Oh uh… sorry" he said slowly, still sleepy, realising it was Jac, he had just touched.

Jac quickly got in the bathroom, to get dressed while Michael lay back on the pillows to gain a few more minutes of sleep, before his kids arrived.


	2. Michael and Jac Take Miami

**_Hope you enjoy this chapter! All reviews are appreciated. Thanks x_**

After spending almost an hour, having breakfast, they were both heading to their room. They would have been finished sooner, if it was for Jac. All she had was a cup of tea but Michael helped himself with scrambled eggs on toast, bacon, croissants and all that he was offered at the morning buffet.

On their way up, Michael stopped and turned to Jac,

"Hey, uh I just remembered, I'm out of gas… I'm gonna hit the station, I'll be back soon, okay?" he told her.

"Can't you go on our way to the beach?" Jac asked.

"No, we won't be going that way… oh and stay in our room, yeah? So the kids will find someone when they arrive…" he suggested as he took out his car keys from his pocket and walked away.

'This is just great…' Jac thought… she had to stay locked in their room, doing nothing, all to wait for Michael's kids to arrive, so they supposedly spend the day out together. She just hoped this would turn out to be fun after all.

It was not long before she heard a knock at the door.

…

"Hello…Jac?!" Annalese asked surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here,"

"Hi, Annalese…. Yeah I'm with Michael on his business trip, before you assume anything, it is a GS/CT project you know…" Jac quickly informed her, before Annalese assumed the wrong conclusions.

"oh right…. okay kids, have fun and behave…" she told them as they all hugged their mother, and followed Jac inside.

"It was nice to see you again Jac," Annalese added before she left.

"Nice to see you too…" Jac replied as she closed the door.

The little ones leaped onto the sofa, while Jasmine walked around, observing every corner of the room. Jac was feeling slightly awkward; she didn't know what to say to them.

"Have you got your swimsuits on? Or do you still need to change?" she asked, just to break the ice.

"Yes!" Milly and Meena replied together.

"Swimsuit? As if! Swimsuits are for little girls, I wear a bikini now…" the 14 year-old protested.

"Yeah, right, whatever!" Jac didn't really know how to handle a teenager.

Milly and Charlie started jumping on the sofa. Well you expect that from Charlie, the three year-old, but Milly was supposed to act more sensible.

"Okay, you two, get down, now!" Jac yelled. Both kids had never met a woman who scared them that much by yelling at them, we all know how Jac Naylor can be like, if she doesn't get things her way.

Jasmine approached her dresser, and immediately laid eyes on Jac's black handbag.

"oohhh, this is fab!" Jasmine exclaimed, now also adopting a slight American accent. "Can I borrow it one day?" she asked Jac.

Jac narrowed her eyes and answered with a simple, cold 'no!'

"Why? We are gonna be pretty close anyway, I try to get along with dad's girlfriends, unless, you know… she's some stuck up cow!" Jasmine blabbed.

"Uh… excuse me? Your dad's what?!" Jac could not believe Jasmine's words.

"Why are you acting so surprised? You are dad's girlfriend right?" Jasmine replied back.

"Uh what?! No, I'm NOT dad's girlfriend! What gave you that impression?" Jac exclaimed, as she folded her arms.

"Well you are here… on holiday together. Dad gave us his hotel room number, we came up here and found you and not to mention, there's only one bed. I'm 14; I'm not dumb you know…" Jasmine clearly, explained.

"Well next time don't assume okay? Not in a million years…. Your dad and I are here on a business trip and we happen to share the same room just for one day, we're back to normal tonight…" Jac told her as she got hold of her handbag, which was still in Jasmine's hands.

…

Just then, Michael walked in, to find them all in the room together.

"Hey you guys!" as all four kids ran up to him as he placed his keys on the coffee table, and all together leaped onto the bed. "I missed you guys like crazy! Are you ready to have some fun?"

"Yes!" the middle girls exclaimed, as Jac observed this family moment and realised how Michael truly misses his kids.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about! Come on, get your stuff, we don't have any time to waste!" he told them as he got up from the bed, and they rushed to get their small bags.

"Are you ready to go?" Michael asked Jac.

"Yeah sure…" she said as she put on her flip flops and wore a pair of sunglasses in her auburn hair.

…

They soon arrived. The sun was shining, the beach was packed. Michael rented an umbrella and two deckchairs, while Jac and the kids tried to find a spot on the beach, so they could settle down their stuff.

"Hey hey, where are you guys going? Didn't mum ever tell you that you should wear sun cream?" he shouted at the girls as they were gonna rush off to the water. He handed Jasmine the bottle so she could scrub her sister. Michael rubbed the third girl's back but Charlie still needed some help.

"Jac, you don't mind rubbing Charlie with some sun cream do you?" Michael asked Jac. The little kid approached her handing her the bottle. She just couldn't say no to Michael in front of his son, they were all in this together after all.

"Right, off you go," she told Charlie as she finished. She took off her clothes, exposing her body and red bikini. She wanted to come to the beach mainly for a tan, so she decided she'd swim later. Michael eyed her whole body on the deck chair, without letting her notice him. He couldn't help it, Jac had one hell of a figure.

Michael joined the kids in the water, and finally Jac had some peace and quiet to herself. She was relaxing, with her eyes closed, absorbing sun rays when she heard a familiar voice calling her.

"Auntie Jac!" someone called out to her and poked her with soaking wet hands. She opened her eyes to see it was Charlie.

"Auntie Jac!" he called out again.

"Hmm?" she turned facing him. "I'm not your…." She paused a bit, she was going to tell him, she wasn't his auntie, but she thought it wasn't worth explaining it to a three year old.

"What's wrong?" she asked the little boy.

"Daddy's playing with the girls all the time…" he told her as he made a sad face. Jac looked up at Michael to see he was frolicking with the girls in the water and realised why Charlie was feeling a little bit left out.

"Ohh look, ice-cream!" the kid shouted as he heard the ice-cream van tune as it parked a few feet away from the beach. "Can I have an ice-cream, pleeaassseeee!" he pleaded.

Jac looked at him. She didn't know what to do, Michael was with the girls and he was asking her for ice-cream. She fell for his cute face.

"Alright, fine, what the hec?... let's go for ice-cream…" she said as she got up and put her beach dress back on.

"Come on, hold my hand," she told him as she held out her hand. Charlie immediately smiled and gave her his hand, as he walked beside her.

"Which one do you like?" Jac asked him as she knelt down and pointed at the pictured menu on the van.

"Vanilla!" Charlie squealed.

"One vanilla please…" Jac ordered. "What about you, don't you want one?" the man in the ice-cream truck asked her, smiling.

"No thanks, I don't do fat..." she replied bluntly.

The seller handed her the vanilla ice-cream cone as Jac left the money on the counter. She handed the ice-cream to Charlie and grabbed his hand again. They walked together back to the beach.

Jac wasn't very fond of kids, but seeing the smile on Charlie's face and seeing his innocence and pleasure licking the ice-cream, she smiled and imagined what it would feel like if she ever had kids of her own.

As they made it back to the beach, Michael and the girls made it to the deck chair.

"Hey, where have you been?" Michael asked Jac, as he grabbed a towel.

Jac tried not to look at his half naked, wet body and get distracted.

"Auntie Jac bought me a vanilla ice-cream!" the boy said happily, holding the cone between his fingers.

Michael smiled at his son's comment. "Oh yeah, auntie Jac, is it?" he said, and smiled looking at Jac. Jac smiled slightly back, showing him she didn't mind.

Michael then realised Jac paid for it. "Oh, uh, what do I owe you?" he asked politely.

"Just leave it…" she was a consultant; she didn't need Michael paying her back, £1.50.

The girls wanted an ice cream too, so on their way to the car, they all bought ice-cream, except for Jac obviously.

They dropped the kids off at Annalese's house on their way back. Some guy emerged Annalese's house, greeting the kids, and much to Michael's dismay, they seemed to know him really well, and even worse, they liked him.

Michael observed them run inside the house, to find Annalese waiting for them at the door. Michael and Jac watched them all walk inside before they drove away.

"So Annalese's got a boyfriend now?" Jac asked Michael looking at him, as he kept his eye on the road.

"Yeah, some guy named Brad… Jasmine told me a couple of weeks ago" Michael uttered, unhappy about it.

"I'm guessing that you don't like the idea of them all living together, do you?" Jac asked again.

"It's not that I'm not happy that Annalese moved on, it's just that I don't like the idea of some stranger living with my kids…" Michael explained.

Jac didn't know what to reply… she didn't have any kids of her own, she didn't understand these family problems. They kept on driving quietly, without saying one word to each other all the way to the hotel.

…

As they arrived and were up in their twin room, they heard a knock at the door. It was the hotel's assistant manager, telling them they could have their double suite back. They packed their stuff and moved back to their initial suite.

Jac moved into her room and unpacked a few things, while Michael did the same. After dinner, they were both tired so they decided to go up to their room to get some rest before another busy day at the hospital.

As Jac was gonna walk into her room, Michael called out to her, before he walked into his.

"Hey, uh… thank you for today…" Michael told her quietly.

"What for?" Jac had no idea why he was thanking her.

"You know, for coming along, with me and the kids… it was nice to have you around…" he added.

Michael looked at her closely, while Jac almost fell for it.

"Oh well… we are on holiday soo…." She added. "Goodnight, we have a busy day tomorrow…" she unlocked her door and walked in.

"Goodnight…" he told her as she closed her door, and Michael walked into his adjacent room.

He leaped onto the bed, lying on his back, thinking about the past two days of this vacation / work project. What exactly was he feeling?

Jac on the other hand, leaned her back against the closed door and stood there staring into space, thinking what came over her over the past two days. Why was she feeling this way?

Both were showing different expressions to what they were feeling when they were around each other. What are they hiding it? Why were they denying it? What lies behind it all?

**_There's more coming up. Excuse any delays, depending on the amount of coursework I have to do. Thanks x_**


	3. When the Hangover Strikes

_**Hope you enjoy reading this. It's different from what we usually see, it shows a different side of both Michael and Jac. Thanks x**_

_**A/N Contains intimate descriptions.**_

A few days later.

Everything was going great. The project was a success and both Michael and Jac were doing the best they can to help these patients with GS or CT conditions. But their trip and vacation was coming to an end, today was their last day working at St. Philips'.

"Suction, please…" Dr Carver told Michael who was assisting her in theatre. She was leading the op, she was a GS consultant just like Mr Spence.

"I'm on it… wow would you look at that?!... that's nicely done.." he praised her stitching, nicely done, as he lifted his eyes and smiled at her through his mask. She smiled back, as her eyes met his. But the machine started beeping.

"What's wrong? He was stable, we were almost done.." Michael commented.

"Oh we've got a bleed…suction, and packs…" Melanie Carver exclaimed. "Oh no, BP's dropping…"

"I think we should page Ms Naylor… she's on stand-by after all…" Michael suggested.

"Yeah go for it… and tell her to hurry!" Dr Carver yelled out, as she started cardiac massage.

Jac Naylor made it to theatre as fast as she could and scrubbed herself up.

"I can't get his BP up…" Melanie started to panic, "he's losing output!"

"Okay… get the internal defibs please!... charging to 360!" Jac ordered. "Charge again… right he's back in sinus" Jac was indeed a life saver.

…

They closed the patient up and Dr Carver washed her hands and was about to leave theatre. Michael and Jac took off their masks, and approached the sinks.

"I'll catch you later, yeah?" Michael asked Melanie, before she left.

"Yeah, see you around…" She added.

Jac turned the tap on and started scrubbing her hands. "ughh…." She commented.

"What?!" Michael asked sarcastically.

"You just can't wait to get into her knickers, can you?" Jac asked him.

"Come on Jac, thought you'd know better…" Michael replied, rinsing his hands.

"Oh, I know you Michael… I've seen the way you two look at each other…" Jac added, turning off the tap.

"Jac, today's our last day… we're going out for drinks later, you're coming right?" Michael asked her, she was part of the team.

"I don't want to intrude…" she replied, smiling sarcastically.

"Jac, you're not going to be intruding… we're just being professional colleagues having a couple of drinks together, that's all…" Michael wanted her to come along.

"If you say soo…" Jac added, leaving the scrub room.

…

"What are you having?" Michael asked Melanie as they sat at the bar. Michael obviously sat himself on a stool between both women.

"Martini please…" she replied politely.

"Jac, what about you?" Michael asked, facing Jac.

"Whatever you're having…" Jac replied, she wasn't up for this. Michael was paying lots of attention to Melanie Carver. She couldn't wait to get back to the hotel. They were leaving the next day, yet both of them still had to pack.

Michael ordered the drinks, and all together they enjoyed a lovely chat. They had a second round and Jac was already not feeling very well, after only two drinks.

"Sorry guys, I'm getting tired now…" Jac said, grabbing her bag.

"Oh come on Jac, stay…" Michael pleaded.

"No seriously, I enjoyed this but I think I should lie down a bit… It was nice meeting you and working with you Dr Carver… see you at the hotel Michael." Jac said as she turned to leave.

"She is a bit strange…" Melanie commented as she and Michael were left alone, having more drinks.

"Oh no… she's lovely, we've worked together a couple of times, it's just until you get to know her…" Michael added, already with alcohol running in his veins.

"It was lovely working with you… you are… a very capable, hard-working…. Charming… consultant…" she said slowly, facing him.

"Ahh… I'm flattered you think so…" he said, looking her in the eye. "How about you and I get to know each other a little better…" he added, now, leaning in closer to her.

She placed her forefinger on his lips and added, "I've given too many men too many chances… I've learnt from my mistakes…"

"But how do you know, I'm just like one of them?" Michael asked her again, still looking at her closely.

"I can tell… goodnight Mr Spence… have a nice flight…" she told him, as she left the bar.

Michael was stunned in a way, stunned as he could be in his drunken state; that a beautiful woman had just turned him down. Usually, they always fell for his charm. He ordered another double whisky and drank it all at one go.

…

It was almost midnight when he made it back to their suite at the hotel. Swaying a little, he walked in, poured himself another whisky, sank onto the sofa, and put his feet up on the coffee table, enjoying his drink alone, until he emptied the rest of the bottle.

He then got up, and walked into the bedroom. Except it was the wrong one, it wasn't his. He saw a red-head woman sleeping in the bed. The same woman he was on holiday with, that same woman he worked with, that one woman he started to have feelings for.

He took off all his clothes and slipped in the bed by her side, wrapping his right arm around her. Jac felt someone beside her, so she turned over. She was about to open her eyes.

"Shhh…" he said, as he kissed her softly on her lips. "What the…?!" Jac exclaimed as she opened her eyes and pushed him away.

"Oh come on Jac… I know you want to…" Michael whispered slowly.

Jac tried her best not to get distracted by his naked body, touching hers. "Oh she turned you down, didn't she?" Jac asked him, referring to Melanie.

"Oh come on Jac… don't be like that… she means nothing to me… but you…" he said slowly as he ran his hand up her thigh, beneath the sheets, "you got it all…" he added, as he lowered his face towards hers, until he touched her lips.

It was so obvious; it was the alcohol that made Michael admit everything. But still, Jac was so turned on by Michael. She couldn't deny it or fight it anymore. She had to give in. Either she was giving into lust or the true feelings she felt towards him, she didn't know. She responded, deepening his kiss, with both her arms, grasping his body, letting him slide down her underwear.

…

The next morning, Jac woke up and sat up in bed, trying to remember what had happened the night before. She looked around to see Michael sleeping by her side, her underwear and nightgown lying on the floor, beside the pile of Michael's clothes.

She glanced at the clock and soon widened her eyes as she realised the time. They were going to be late. There was no time for a shower. She got up, put on clean underwear and clothes and started gathering her stuff from the floor.

"Michael, wake up! We're gonna be late!" she yelled, nudging him. "Get up! Our flight leaves in two hours!"

As she took hold of Michael's clothes, a small, packet fell out of his pocket. She picked it up and immediately realised it was unused.

"Great! ...this is just great!" she was just starting to realise, how big of a mistake this all was.

She walked out of the bedroom, into the main hall, and saw empty glasses on the coffee table and an empty whisky bottle lying on the couch. She couldn't believe he kept drinking even after he came back from the bar.

She walked into his room, hoping he had already packed a few things. She opened his wardrobe, to see that all his suits were still on hangers. She walked into the bathroom, tucked away all his shaving stuff into his pocket, trying to get all packing done, just in time. But as she was busy doing this, a small plastic bag caught her eye, lying behind his after-shave bottle.

She took it in her hands, untied the knot to get a better view of what was inside. She observed a rolled paper money lying on, some white powder. She thought of what could it be and… oh no… a horrible thought just came to mind, it couldn't be cocaine.

Furiously, she left his room and walked back into hers, where Michael was still lying in _her _bed. He wasn't awake yet. So she slid away the white quilt leaving only the bed sheet over him. He felt a sudden rush of cold air and sat up in bed.

"What the hell is this?!" she shouted, as she threw the plastic bag and the sealed packet, while holding the empty bottle in her other hand.

"Uh… what's going on?" Michael asked, feeling sleepy, hung over from the night before.

"Please tell me that's not cocaine…" Jac said, folding her arms.

"You've been going through my stuff?!" Michael yelled as he got the plastic bag in his hand and got out of bed, while wrapping a towel around his waist.

"I was trying to pack our things, time isn't really on our side" Jac yelled back.

"Is your lecture done?" Michael asked sarcastically, as he walked out of her room and into his.

"Not quite…" Jac added, following him out.

"so not only you've been treating patients while on drugs, you drown yourself in alcohol almost all night and then have unprotected sex with me!" Jac started to lose her temper.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Michael uttered. "Now do you mind? I need to get dressed" he added, implying her to leave the room.

"oh so you're actually shy to put on clothes in front of me, you didn't seem to hesitate to take them off last night!" Jac yelled back. Michael sat down on the bed, and wiped his face with his hands.

Jac sat down beside him and lowered her voice, "Michael, when are you gonna realise you got a problem?"

"It's not me, the fact that I'm not gonna see my kids anymore… that's the problem…" Michael opened up. "I can't do it anymore… I can't live in a different country to my kids…"

"Michael you need to get some help… you can't just turn to alcohol or drugs when you feel down, you know I can report you, right?" Jac told him slowly.

"No, Jac please… don't…" he told her, holding her hand in his.

"I'm not, because you're my friend and my colleague and I care about you, but if you have a problem with this, you have to talk things out, why don't you talk to Annalese about this? Maybe you'll come up with some sort of arrangement?" Jac suggested.

"Don't you think I tried, it's all for nothing… now there's this Brad…" Michael uttered.

"Listen, why don't you stay for an extra two weeks? Don't worry I'll go back to Holby by myself and I'll explain everything to Hanssen, I'm sure he'll understand. I mean, you don't mind taking some unpaid leave, do you?" Jac tried to help him.

"No, of course not, I don't care about money, as long as I'm around my kids," Michael agreed to Jac's suggestion.

"Well then I better go pack the rest of my things, cos I'm gonna miss my plane…" she said as she got up from the bed and was gonna walk out of the room.

…

As soon as Jac packed all her stuff, and dragged her suitcases into the hall, she put her handbag on her shoulder and was ready to leave.

"Uh Jac…" Michael called out, before she opened the front door. Jac turned around.

Michael approached her, "Thank you… for your word of advice and helping me out…"

"Anytime…" Jac replied, "but don't you dare tell anyone about this, it's not the Jac they know.." she added, as she smiled and winked at him.

Michael remembered to tell her something," oh… uh… I'm sorry about last night… it was wrong of me to do such thing… it shouldn't have happened…"

"Don't worry…" Jac said slowly, "and I'm sorry if I may have over reacted earlier. Look, let's just move on yeah?"

"Yeah, so… Bon voyage!" Michael told her as he made a few steps forward, and hugged her. "Thanks" she replied as she hugged him back. As she let go of his embrace, she turned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See you back in Holby…" she told him as she took her luggage and left the room.

…

As Michael closed the door behind her, he leaned against the closed door, and thought about what had happened. She made his body tingle when her lips touched his cheek. When Jac suggested they move on from last night, he agreed, but deep down he didn't want to forget about what happened, even if he was drunk.

As Jac got into the yellow cab, she looked out of the window, thinking about the events of last night. Was this what she really wanted? Did she really want to move on and forget it ever happened? What lies behind it all?


	4. Unexpected

**_Hope you enjoy this one. Please R&R. Thanks xx_**

8 months later.

Jac was sitting at the nurses' station on Darwin, behind the desk, writing notes in a patients file and observing scans on the computer screen. A few moments later, somebody approached the desk in front of her and as she lifted her head up, she couldn't believe who it was.

"Michael! Hi… I haven't seen you since… Florida, I think, right?" Jac exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry, since that time, I've already been to Florida twice again, and we've been busy as hell on AAU, I couldn't make time to come and say hello, I'm sorry…" Michael explained.

"No it's fine, well I haven't contacted you either so… anyway how are things?" Jac asked.

"Great… the kids are coming back to Holby," Michael replied, with a smile on his face.

Jac couldn't believe the news, "that's…. wonderful…" she uttered.

"Hey uh…. I just came by to hand these notes to Ms Effanga, she's been doing some CT work on AAU, could you pass them on? Please?" Michael asked, politely.

"Yeah, fine, don't worry…" Jac answered back, as she took hold of the notes.

"You're the best… see you around…" Michael told her smiling, as he winked at her. Jac smiled back and sat there watching him walk away. Just seeing him again, evoked feelings from the past. She decided. She had to tell him the truth… the _whole _truth.

…

At half past one, it was time for Jac's break. She bought a tea and decided to go breathe some fresh air, outside but from the back side of the hospital. She was looking forward to some quiet time by herself, without any distractions, to think.

She walked outside, but as she looked around to see if she could find somewhere to sit down, she saw Michael a few feet away, alone, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey…" she began as she walked up to him. "Didn't know you smoke…"

"Hey Jac…" he said as he turned and saw someone standing next to him. But he had to give her another look, her huge baby bump caught his eye.

"And I didn't know you were building a family…" he added. He hadn't noticed her that morning, since she was sitting behind the desk.

"I asked you first…" Jac told him, trying to avoid answering his question.

"Well just occasionally, in times of stress… kids are supposed to arrive this week but Annalese told me, there's been a delay and they'll be here in the next few days…so yeah, life couldn't be better…" he said, ending sarcastically, as he inhaled another breath of smoke.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that…" she commented.

"So, what about you?" he asked her, pointing at her belly with the cigarette in between his fingers, before he let it go on the road and crushed it underneath his foot. He thought it wasn't appropriate to smoke beside a pregnant lady, even though they were outdoors.

"Uh… yeah… wasn't expecting this actually…" she told him, as she held her belly with her hands. She tried to zip up her grey hoodie on her deep blue scrubs, but she couldn't hide the truth. She couldn't hide it anymore.

"Well… hope you and whoever you're with, will be happy, congratulations…" Michael added.

Since Florida, Jac had become a bit close to Michael, more than she was to anyone else, so she thought there was nothing wrong, if only Michael knew the truth.

"Well actually… it's just me… there's no one else around…" Jac said slowly.

"Oh, so he just left you? That's a shame… listen if you ever need anything, just tell me…" Michael offered, as the good friend he was.

"Right, thanks…. Look… Michael, there's something I need to tell you…" Jac blurted out.

But just as she was about to share what was on her mind, Michael's phone went off.

"Yeah, Spence," Michael answered his phone, "Okay I'll be right there…"

"Sorry, I have to go, it's an emergency on AAU… whatever it is, it can wait, right?" he told her as he hung up.

"Yeah sure…" Jac replied, stunned that something had to pop up at that particular moment and interrupt everything.

"I'll catch up with you later…" he said as he turned, almost running to get down on AAU.

'No Michael, it can't wait any longer…' she told herself, as she was left alone.

…

Later that night, Jac took a shower and decided to make a cup of tea, and get to bed early. She was feeling tired than ever these days; she was getting bigger every day, she only had 3 weeks to go. And today, she was feeling a bit different. She felt slight pain, but she just assumed it was the baby moving. She hadn't felt anything since that morning, so she thought everything was okay.

As she poured boiling water from the kettle in her favourite mug, she heard the doorbell. She wasn't expecting anyone. She checked who it was through the camera, and realised it was someone familiar.

"Michael, Hi…" she told him as she opened the front door.

"Hey…uh… hope I didn't wake you up, I'm sorry I know its late, but I just finished my shift and I thought I'd come check up on you…" he told her, standing in the doorway.

"No, it's fine… but I'm not a little girl you know…" she told him.

"Okay…. I'll leave and see you tomorrow then…"Michael joked, as he turned to leave.

"No, come in, you can stay," as she grabbed him by the arm and led him inside.

He followed her inside and he soon made himself comfortable on her sofa in her combined kitchen and living area.

"Hmm, nice place you got here…" he complimented her house, as he looked around.

"Thanks… I was making tea, would you like anything? Tea, coffee? Or a drink?" Jac offered.

"Well since you're offering, a nice, warm cup of tea would be nice, thanks" Michael replied.

"Wow! Is this you?!... and Joseph?!" he asked, astonishingly as he held a photo frame, he found on the side table beside the sofa. It was a picture of Jac in a swimsuit by the pool. She looked really young.

That was the only picture of her she had in her living room, so she knew what he was talking about, "Yeah, that was taken when Joseph and I went to Dubai…"

"You and Joseph have been to Dubai? Heard you two were a thing once…" Michael commented.

"Yeah we went looking for Faye… kind of a long story…" implying she didn't want to talk about it.

Jac soon made another tea and handed him the cup, as she sat down beside him.

"Excuse my…" she told him as she held her dressing gown between her fingers. She was a bit embarrassed in front of Michael but pyjamas were that piece of clothing she felt most comfortable in, while being pregnant lately.

"No, it's okay… I don't mind…" Michael replied as he sipped his tea.

Jac drank her tea, and both of them fell silent.

"So…uh… you're willing to do this all by yourself?" Michael asked her, about what she had told him that morning. He had the idea that her boyfriend had left her when he found out about her pregnancy.

She felt a sharp pain across her lower abdomen, and decided to keep her mouth shut about it.

"Well I'll try…" she responded, trying to change the subject.

But like two minutes later, she felt the pain again. She couldn't take it any longer.

"Um, would you excuse me for a bit?" she told him as she got up and headed to the bathroom.

…

Michael got up from the sofa and took both empty mugs into the kitchen.

Jac on the other hand, turned on the tap and washed her face with cold water. She felt the pain again, she couldn't keep straight this time, she almost fell to the floor. But it only lasted for two minutes and she felt okay again. But things were getting worse. She felt a warm liquid between her legs, and soon realised what this was. She felt the contractions again, this time stronger, which led her to let out a little cry of pain.

Michael thought he heard some noise, and rushed to the bathroom door. He knocked, "Jac, is everything okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine… everything's fine…" she yelled back. Jac soon emerged from the bathroom.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Michael asked her again, he wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry…" Jac replied, she wasn't feeling anything at the time. But just as she and Michael headed to the living room again, she let out a loud cry of pain this time. The pain was getting worse.

Michael turned around and was shocked to see Jac like that. He rushed to her side and grabbed her from underneath her arms.

"My water's just broke…." She told him, as she bent forward in pain.

"Thought something was up…. Come on… let's get you to the hospital, have you packed your bag?" he didn't let go of her.

"Yeah… it's in the hall… wait so you're taking me to the hospital?" Jac asked him, finally standing up on her own again.

"Well we don't really have a choice here…" Michael told her.

"Okay so you're gonna be driving and I'm gonna be alone in the backseat… what if it wont wait, n you'll have to stop the car anyway?" All crazy thoughts were going through Jac's head.

"Owww…" she felt another strong contraction.

He grabbed hold of her again, "Okay so what do you suggest we do?" he asked confused.

"Call an ambulance, for God's sake!" Jac yelled, "Michael, I need to lie down…" she yelled, grabbing his shoulders firmly.

"Okay, okay, I'm on it…." He let go of her, and sat her down. He moved the coffee table out of the way and made space in the living room. Jac had a spare blanket on the sofa. He placed it on the floor and rested cushions and pillows against the sofa's height.

"Come on, now lie down and press your arms against the sofa, " he told her as he lay her on the floor, with her back resting against the sofa. "Are you comfortable?" he asked her, making sure she had enough support behind her back.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Jac said between breaths.

"now just breath… and try to calm down…" Michael told her as he took out his phone to call an ambulance.

"Ambulance please… yeah uh… my… uh… wife is about to deliver, like now… try to hurry… 950 Kings' Cross, thanks" Michael ended the phone call.

"Oh so I'm your wife now?" Jac asked him, trying to take her mind off everything.

"So what did you want me to tell them? It was the fastest way to tell them to hurry!... uh where do you keep warm blankets and a first aid box, just in case?" Michael asked her.

"upstairs, first room, top cupboard…" she replied, trying to breath and keep calm.

At her words, Michael ran upstairs as fast as he could and got essential stuff the paramedics may need.

"Where is that damn ambulance?!" Michael was starting to lose his patience. He ran to the front door and opened it slightly, so the paramedics could walk in straight away.

"Michael!" Jac yelled from the other room. Michael ran to Jac's side in the living room.

"I need to push!" Jac shouted, tying her hair into a bun.

"That's impossible, it has only been like half an hour since you've gone into labour!" Michael couldn't understand.

"I said, I need to push, I can feel it!" Jac yelled at him.

Michael rolled his eyes, "Okay… don't take this wrong way, I'll check you over as a doctor and not as your friend…" he told her, as he took off his jacket and observed her.

"how much?" Jac asked him, as he checked.

"I'd say 7 to 8 cm…" Michael added.

"This baby…. Is coming now!" Jac cried in pain.

"Are you serious?! We can't do this here! The ambulance hasn't arrived yet!" Michael could not believe this was happening.

"Oh, we're both doctors for God's sake! Don't tell me you don't know how to deliver a baby!" Jac shouted at him.

"Yeah, but the last time I stepped into a delivery room was back when I was in med school!" Michael knew what to do, but still it wasn't his area of speciality.

Jac couldn't take it any longer, she grabbed his shirt from his neck and pulled him towards her, "Listen to me…. We're in this together… you've got to help me, Michael… please…" she was almost crying.

When he looked at her face, he felt sorry for her. He had to help her. "Okay fine… let's do this…" Michael said as he observed her between her legs again.

"Can you see the head?" Jac asked.

"Yeah, I can see it…" he told her. He had to use his hands now.

"Owwww….what the hell are you doing?" Jac screamed, he hurt her.

"Sorry, I'm trying to take the cord from around the baby's neck… if you tried to push, it would've suffocated…" Michael explained, "okay, it seems fine now, are you ready?... on 3…"

Jac nodded in approval. She followed Michael's instructions, "1, 2 and 3…" Jac held her knees and pushed as hard as she could.

"Okay… stop…you're almost there but it's stuck at the shoulders…. Try again on the next contraction…" Michael instructed.

Jac did as Michael said, and with two more pushes, it was safely delivered. Michael was ready to catch the baby in his hands, "It's a boy!" he exclaimed while smiling at Jac.

"Ah, really?!... wait why isn't he crying?" Jac started to worry.

"Wait I'm trying to get his breathing rhythm sorted…" he told her as he cleaned his nasal passages, and finally loud cries filled the room.

"Go to mama…" he smiled at him, as he passed him over to Jac. While Jac held her son in a warm blanket, Michael clamped the cord with tools he found in Jac's first aid box and cut it, waiting for the paramedics to arrive and deliver Jac's placenta.

"He's adorable…" Michael told her, smiling at him. Jac couldn't help it, she started crying.

"He saw his daddy first…." She said with a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Huh?..." he asked, smiling, confused.

Jac crying replied, "He's yours Michael… he's your son… he's _our _son…"

And Michael, stunned at the news, looked at Jac confused, and looked again at the new born in his mother's arms...

_**To be continued...**_


	5. The Ties that Bind

"Hey…." Michael whispered as he walked into the hospital room, and closed the door behind him, to see Jac was lying down in bed.

Jac sat up in bed, looking over her son, wrapped in a white baby grow, in the bassinet, "he's sleeping…" she whispered, she didn't want to wake him up.

Michael sat down on Jac's bed side, looking at their son.

"He looks like you…" Jac said, to break the ice. She was right, even though he was only a day old. His hair was jet-black just like Michael's. Michael smiled, looking over him.

But still there was silence between them, "Look… Michael, if you want to get him DNA tested, I'm not going to stop you, but I'm not lying… since Florida, it's been just you…" Jac tried to explain slowly.

"No, I trust you… there is no need, besides we have to give this little guy a name, we can't just give him your surname… and if the test comes back positive, we have to go through a lot to change it back… Have you thought of anything?" Michael was joining in the conversation, but Jac could sense that he was still not confident about this.

"I didn't know what I was having, so not really…. but something beginning with an 'M' would be nice… how about… Mason?" Jac replied, thinking of a name just that minute.

"Hmm… that's nice… so that would be, Mason Spence?" Michael asked, looking again at his son, sleeping peacefully.

"Mason Spence…" Jac echoed, smiling at her son too.

"I wasn't going to ask you now…. But… why didn't you tell me? Why did you wait until now to blurt it out?" he asked now, turning facing her, still sitting on the bed.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" as a tear rolled down her face, not looking at him.

"So that's all you have to say…" Michael said.

Jac took hold of Michael's hand in hers, and added, "Michael I…"

But she was soon interrupted by a small knock on the door. She didn't even have time to say 'come in', whoever it was, barged into the room, as Michael let go of Jac's hand and got up hurriedly from the bed. It was Sacha and Chrissie.

"Awwww there she is! Our new mama!" Sacha yelled, with a smile on his face, as he walked over to Jac and gave her a big hug.

"Shhhh! You'll wake him!" Jac whispered.

"Oh, sorry!" Sacha whispered, "Aww look at him, he's adorable!" he added, looking at him, "How are you feeling?" now facing Jac.

"well… no stitches and all that, so… great," Jac replied, smling.

"I'll give you some space..." Michael said as he was turning to leave. "No, Michael you can stay, honestly, it's fine…" Sacha whispered. Sacha managed to convince him. "We just came up to see that Jac's okay… we can't be long, AAU is busy as hell today…" he whispered to his boss.

"Congratulations…" Chrissie said slowly, slightly smiling at Jac. They weren't the best of friends.

"Thanks for coming by…" Jac replied, "and thanks for the gift…" she added, referring to the gift basket, Sacha brought up with him.

…

Chrissie couldn't wait to gossip about what was going on in Jac's life.

"Do you have any idea who Jac's with? Or who the baby's father is? I mean… I know Jac has always been this secretive, but this time it's a bit strange…" Chrissie whispered to Sacha, as they walked down the corridor on their way to AAU. They didn't want to be heard by other members of staff, passing by.

"No… no idea at all…" Sacha replied, but couldn't be less interested in Jac's business.

"Have you seen the look on Michael and Jacs' faces when we walked into the room?" Chrissie asked again.

"What do you mean?" Sacha asked, confused.

"Well I don't know… they acted a bit… weird…" Chrissie added.

"Are you serious? Michael and Jac are friends, good old friends, that's all…" Sacha didn't notice anything, for him, everything was just normal.

"Hmm… still not buying it…" Chrissie muttered, as she pulled open the door and walked onto the ward.

…

Jac walked into her house, carrying her son in his car seat, with Michael following her inside, carrying her hospital and baby bag. Michael had offered to take her home. She had no one around, and besides this was his son. He wasn't going to let her go home with a new born in a cab.

Jac placed the car seat on the sofa, and sat beside her son. Michael soon joined her on the other side, with their son now in between. Mason slept the entire ride home.

"Ahh it's great to be home…" Jac sighed, "Oh look he opened his eyes!" Jac said, smiling. She was surprised, he had only opened them once since he was born.

"Uh, may I?" Michael asked, as he held out his hands, implying to hold his son.

"Yeah of course… You're his dad, you don't have to ask, you know…" Jac replied.

She watched as Michael took hold of his new son in his hands. This was the first time, he was holding him… well technically, _he _was the first to hold him, when he helped Jac bring him into this world. Michael smiled at the child as Mason gave out a small yawn. Deep down he admitted it, not out loud, Mason was adorable. But the sweet moment didn't last long enough, he soon started crying.

"Oh… lets go back to _mommy_…" Michael told him, as he leaned into Jac so that she could take hold of him.

"Uh, no, let's take him upstairs and put him down for a nap," Jac suggested, as she walked upstairs, with Michael following her up, carrying his son.

Jac pushed the door open, to a room across the hall. Michael followed her in, to see a large room filled with baby essentials, his cot, changing table, a rocking chair… it was perfect. He was amazed though, how Jac bought all that stuff and prepared everything by herself, and still didn't tell him the truth.

Michael slowly put him down in his cot, and soon drifted off to sleep again. Jac walked out of the room, and let him sleep.

"Don't you think we need to have a little talk?" Michael told her slowly as he followed her down stairs. "Jac, just because we're talking to each other, it doesn't mean everything is okay…"

"I don't expect it to be, I messed up, I know…" she said slowly as she walked into the kitchen.

"Jac, I just can't understand how you would keep something like this from me…" Michael added.

"You don't understand… all my life, it's been just me, when I found out I was pregnant, I wanted this baby, irrelevant of who the father is, and I thought that maybe, if I told you…" Jac trailed off.

"That I'd what?" Michael raised his voice.

"Well, you already got 4 kids, and maybe if I told you, this one was yours…" she paused, "I didn't want an abortion…" Jac said, almost crying.

"An abortion?! Of course I wouldn't force you to do something like that! Yes I already have kids, but if you wanted it, I wouldn't have stopped you…I can't believe you'd think of such thing!" Michael tried to yell, but not too much because of the sleeping baby.

"And what about the pregnancy, scans and everything… you went through that all by yourself?!" Michael added, "I had a right to know! What if something was wrong?!"

"Yes I know, I'm sorry…" Jac replied, looking at the floor.

"Here…" Michael took out a white envelope from his pocket and placed it on the kitchen bench.

"What's this?" Jac asked him, as she took it in her hands and opened it. She saw a huge amount of cash folded in two. "I don't need your money…" she told him as she passed the envelope again back to him.

"Seriously take it, he is mine, and I'm going to treat him like my other four…" Michael told her, passing back the envelope.

"I don't deserve it…" Jac said slowly.

"Maybe, but he does…" he added, pointing upwards, referring to baby Mason, "just take it, use it for whatever he needs…"

"Thank you…" Jac finally accepted the offer, "you know, you can come round and see him whenever you like…"

"Thanks… uh… I should get going, it's getting late, are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Michael asked her, before he turned to leave.

"Yeah I'll be fine, hopefully we won't be up that much during the night, maybe I could get some rest…" Jac replied, but they soon heard Mason crying loudly from upstairs.

Michael assumed, Jac was not gonna get much sleep so he offered her something else, "Listen, I can stay the night, if you like… we could take turns with him, you need to rest…"

"Your money and help so far, were more than enough… why are you being so nice to me, after what I did to you?" Jac couldn't understand.

"I'm trying to help you out here, and get involved with him, and besides I'm going to be alone at the hotel anyway…oh I'll take the couch, don't worry…" Michael explained.

"Well thanks, I had a spare room, but I had to turn it into a nursery… instead I have a sofa bed in the hallway upstairs, you can have that if you like…" Jac tried to make him feel at home.

"Yeah sure…" Michael replied.

…

The next morning, Jac slept in. She was really tired. She got out of bed and her room, and walked into the hall to see Michael was already up. She walked into the nursery, and saw that her son wasn't in his cot either. All thoughts were going through her mind. She rushed downstairs, and to her relief she found Michael in the kitchen holding their son, feeding him a bottle of milk.

"oh God, you scared me…" Jac told him.

"Hey… good morning, good thing you refridgerated some milk, he started crying and I decided to feed him instead of waking you up…" Michael explained, still holding him, "I'm just trying to help…"

"Thank you…" Jac thanked him, "you can hand him over if you like…" she added as she held out her hands to hold him.

"Uh no… I'm gonna put him down for a bit, while you have some breakfast..." Michael told her, as Jac observed the set table in front of her, "Come on, have a seat…"

"oh you didn't need to…" Jac exclaimed as she sat down at the table. Michael served her fresh fruit and orange juice.

"of course I do, it's the least I can do, after letting me stay the night, and besides you need a lot of vitamins and nutrients," Michael told her.

"I feel bad, after the way I treated you, I don't deserve all this…" Jac was feeling guilty.

"Don't be, what happened, happened, we can't fix that, but he's here now, we both gotta do what's best for _him…_" Michael replied.

"Are you going to sit?" Jac asked him, to join her.

"uh no, I can't, I've got to run to the hotel, change my suit and get to AAU, or else I'll be late…" Michael got his coat and stuff he had with him the night before, and prepared to leave.

Jac walked him out the front door.

"Listen if you need anything, just call me, yeah?" Michael offered. Jac was going to be at home with his son, on maternity leave, alone. She had no one around, if she ever needed any help

"Right… Michael, wait!" she called out, causing Michael to turn around. She ran up to him, halfway through the drive way, and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Michael asked her smiling.

"Thank you… for everything… you've been very kind to me, despite what I did to you, sorry again…" Jac explained.

"It's fine," Michael told her, and turned to leave.

Jac stood there and watched him as he started his engine and drove away.

She thought to herself, they were supposed to be on good terms together now. So what was the next step?


	6. Revelations

Four weeks had gone by and everything was going great. Michael tried to visit his son every day after his shift. There were only a few times where he got caught up with work, and couldn't make it. But he made sure he would never miss a visit. He was willing to give all the time he could give him, and Jac wasn't complaining obviously.

As he stood up from his desk, and grabbed his car keys and his coat, his office door blew open. He was surprised to see his four kids walk in, with Annalese following.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" Michael exclaimed as he saw his kids, then turning to Annalese, "I thought _I_ was gonna pick them up!"

The kids sat quietly on the sofa while Jasmine, sat in her father's office chair.

"Oh yeah, sorry but I'm meeting Brad down town, and I thought I'd drop them off on my way, I wouldn't want to keep him waiting…" Annalese quickly explained.

"Oh I forgot… _Brad_…" Michael echoed.

"Oh man up, Michael!" she almost yelled but kept her voice down in front of the kids. She turned to leave.

"Oh wait… I need to talk to you about something…" Michael told her slowly.

"Michael I don't have much time, make it fast!" Annalese was losing her patience.

Michael faced Jasmine, "Jasmine, could you take your sisters and brother and wait for me outside? On those chairs? Mom and I are gonna have a little talk,"

Jasmine without saying a word, got up from the chair and led her siblings outside.

"For God's sake, just come out and say it…" Annalese told him, once again.

"I have a son…" Michael began, saying each word, very slowly.

"Yes… and you have three daughters as well…. Michael I'm not in the mood for playing games!" Annalese exclaimed.

"No, what I meant was, I… I have a-nother son…" Michael added, not looking Annalese in the eye.

"Ha! Who couldn't see that coming?" Annalese said, almost laughing. She knew what a womanizer Michael was.

"It's not funny… I just found out, he's only four weeks old…" Michael told her more.

"Oh, one night stand was it?" Annalese assumed it was a one-time thing.

"Oh for God's sake, shut up!" Michael now yelling, "what I do, is none of your business, like what you do with _Brad_, is none of mine! …And for your information, no it wasn't, we're taking things slow!" Technically Jac and him weren't taking things slow. They never even started a relationship, he was lying, but he didn't want to sound like he messed up.

"I'm taking the kids to see him today… he is their half-brother after all, not to mention, they don't know about him yet…" Michael added.

"Look, do what the hell you want, but listen to me, I don't care if you have five kids instead of four now, I still want 5 grand a month in maintenance, and don't you dare play games with me, cos I swear, I'll never let you see the kids again!" Annalese said, approaching him and the desk.

"No, it's fine, they're gonna get what they used to get, nothing's gonna change that," Michael replied.

"Good…" Annalese added, but something on his desk caught her eye. She noticed a 6x4 photo of Jac holding a baby in her hands.

"Jac Naylor?!" Annalese exclaimed as she took the photo in her hands, "seriously?!"

"Do you mind?" Michael told her, snatching the photo from her hands.

"there must be no women left in the UK!" Annalese added, sarcastically.

"Would you please leave?" Michael told her, opening the door for her.

"Bring them back by 5pm" she warned him, as she walked out his office.

…

As Michael walked up to Jac's door, with his kids following him, he rang Jac's doorbell and turned around.

"I have a surprise for you!" Michael told them.

Just that minute, Jac opened the door, "Hey… come in…" she told him, as she made way for them all. Michael was used to going round Jac's place so he kept going into the living room, where baby Mason was lying in his cot.

"Say hello… to your new baby brother, Mason!" Michael said slowly as the kids approached him and they all looked over him.

"What do you mean 'baby brother'?" Jasmine replied, as she stood back, confused.

"Okay, he's your half-brother…" Micahel added.

Jasmine was stunned at the news. She looked down at the baby, then at Jac. Furiously, she left the room and walked outside, in the drive way.

"Jas! Jasmine wait!" Michael called her as he followed her out.

"How could you do this to us? Replacing us with him?" Jasmine said, almost crying.

"I'm not replacing you, you're still my kids… but now I have another one…" Michael told her slowly.

"Yeah but obviously you're gonna see more of him, than us…" Jasmine added as she sat down on Jac's doorstep.

"Well that could be, but nothing's gonna change between us, and no offense but you seemed okay with Brad living with you at home, your mom moved on, so why shouldn't I?" he told her slowly as he sat down beside her.

"Who said I'm okay with it?" Jasmine said slowly, as she looked at the ground.

"Jasmine, I know you're hurt. I know maybe you want us to get back together. But your mom and I had our time, it's over now… I remember when we were in med school together… we were crazy about each other, then I became a doctor, mom an anaesthetist…and to tell you everything, we had a bit of extra fun at our graduation party, then mum found out she was pregnant… with you…"

Jasmine looked up at Michal, listening to him narrate a story from their past. She didn't know anything about this.

"Your mom was devastated, she thought her whole life and career were over, and you know what I did? I promised her I'll be there right by her side. Then we got married, you came along, then Meena, then Milly and Charlie... But I made some mistakes… which I regret. I loved your mom so much and I still do in a way, but your mom and I can never get back together. We have to move on, and apparently she already did. Look my point is… both mom and I, love you and your siblings so much and no matter what happens, we're both going to be there for you guys…" Michael explained.

"I'm sorry dad…" Jasmine told her father, as she lay her head, leaning against his side.

"Don't be… come here…." he told her as he wrapped his left arm around his daughter.

…

After their conversation, Michael and Jasmine returned inside and joined the others in the living room.

"Could you give him some space…" Jac yelled out at the other three kids. "He's not immune yet!" the kids stepped aside. Jac, being a doctor, knew perfectly well, that new-borns' immune system is not fully developed until 3 months old. She didn't want her son to catch anything.

Jasmine approached the cot and asked Jac if she could hold him. Jac answered with a cold "No!" But Michael gave her a look and she soon understood.

"Okay… fine then… just sit down yeah?" Jac was scared Jasmine might drop him, so she thought it was safer to hold him sitting down. Jasmine sat herself on the sofa and Jac handed him over. Jasmine smiled at her half-brother as he gave a small yawn, but he soon started crying. Jac immediately leaped over to get hold of him again. She never imagined herself having kids, but now that he was here, she was willing to do everything she could to protect him.

"Shall we eat?" Michael asked Jac. Jac, with Mason, lying on her shoulder, patting him on the back trying to put him to sleep, she told him the prepared dish was in the oven. They lay around the table, all five of them, having dinner and trying to keep a conversation going. At least, the kids didn't seem like they were getting bored. Michael was pleased to notice so.

It was time to take the kids back to their house and as Michael grabbed his car keys, he kissed Mason's forehead, then turned to Jac and whispered "I'll call you later…"

…

A couple of hours later, Jac started to get tired, and even though she was waiting for the phone by her side to call, she decided to go upstairs to sleep. She put Mason in the nursery and as soon as she was about to climb into bed, she heard the doorbell ring. Frowning, she had to go downstairs again to see who it was. She looked through the intercom to see it was Michael again.

"Hey, I waited for your call, I wasn't expecting you to come round again…" she said in a low voice.

"Yeah, um, I forgot something…" Michael said slowly.

"What?" Jac asked, she didn't find anything around the house that belongs to him.

"This…." He told her as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. As they separated, Jac was speechless; she didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry… but I'm tired of hiding it any longer…" he told her. Jac stood there, looking at him. He waited for her reply. But Jac couldn't resist either. She stepped one step closer to him and kissed him again, pulling him inside by his coat. Obviously Michael didn't pull away, he followed her in, still locking their lips together, closing the door behind him. With his hand around her, on her back, he slid them a little lower and grabbed Jac, lifting her off the floor and carried her upstairs.

**_To be continued..._**

**_All reviews sharing your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks X_**


	7. Trouble in Paradise

Jac was still asleep when she felt someone's warm arm slide around her waist. She smiled at his touch, feeling his torso, close to her body. She smiled more as he touched her shoulder with soft kisses, and kept moving up, until Jac turned on her back, and met his lips. As their lips broke apart, Jac opened her eyes, still smiling.

"Good morning, beautiful…" Michael told her, smiling, moving hair out of her face.

"Don't call me that…" Jac told him, she wasn't into sweet talk.

This was their first night together, since Mason was born, well… since Mason was conceived. Michael still wasn't sure what this meant for them, were they together? Were they a couple now? Or was it just a fling?

"What are we doing Jac? Where does this leave us now?" Michael asked her, lying on his side, with his arms wrapped around Jac's body, lying on her back against the pillows.

"What do you mean?" Jac asked Michael, looking into his eyes.

"Well what's going to happen now? I certainly can't keep visiting Mason every day and we sleep together once in a while…" Michael said, slowly.

"So what are you suggesting then?" Jac asked, now confused.

"We certainly can't keep living apart…" Michael added.

"And you think the best idea to solve this, is by moving in? I like my own space… can't you see we want different things?" Jac told him.

"What different things? We both want what is best for our son… we can give him the family he deserves… I'm living on my own, you're living on your own… we have nothing to lose…" Michael explained.

Jac looked away.

"Jac, when are you going to stop denying your feelings?" Michael asked her, still embracing her.

Jac turned facing him again, "What feelings Michael?"

"Come on Jac… I know behind this mask you're wearing, deep down you feel that us is right and I do too…" Michael told her slowly,

"Please don't say the L-word…" Jac made a face.

"I'm not… I didn't realise it before, but since Florida, I have grown strong feelings towards you… when I go home all I think about is you and Mason…" he added, stroking her arm.

"oh please…" Jac couldn't face him, she won't admit what's lying behind it all.

"Okay… look me in the eye, and tell me that you don't have the hots for me…" Michael told her smiling.

Jac turned her head, looking at him, "Fine… I don't have the hots for you…"

"Then why did we sleep together?" Michael played her.

He was still lying over Jac, she had no escape. Michael leaned in and kissed her. Jac gave into his deep kiss, she elevated her arm and ran her fingers through his hair, with Michael pressing her against the pillows. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Michael was right, she did have feelings, but she just wasn't ready to admit that yet.

Still grasping each other, Jac pushed him over, so that they both rolled over, now with Michael lying on his back, still not letting go of her. But just as the moment was getting more passionate, they were interrupted by load baby cries from Mason's cot.

"It's fine, I'll get him…" Jac told him as she got up, and left the room, wrapped in her dressing gown. Michael got up, and walked into the ensuite. As he was done using the sink, something lying on the vanity bench next to Jac's makeup bag, caught his eye. It was Jac's pills. Michael is a doctor, he knew these weren't just any pills. He took the box in his hands and walked out into the bedroom. Just in time, Jac walked in, carrying Mason.

"Hey… you didn't tell me, you were on birth control?" Michael asked her, showing her the box.

Jac was already going to blurt out, why he had been going through her stuff. But had to think twice when she realised, she was the one who left them lying by the sink.

"Oh, yeah, I was about to start… it's better to learn from my mistakes no?" Jac replied. If she was on birth control, while in Florida, all this wouldn't have happened. Not that she regretted having Mason, but if they had been a bit more careful, things would've been different.

Michael walked back into the ensuite, smiling. Michael on the other hand, loves Mason with all his heart too, but he could certainly see the financial difference now, of having five kids instead of four. So the idea of Jac being on birth control wasn't that bad. In fact he was relieved; there was no chance of seeing any more junior spence's running around now.

…

Jac pushed open the door on AAU and walked right up to the nurses' station, carrying Mason in his car seat.

"Look who's here! How are you?" Sacha exclaimed as he saw Jac in front of him. He hadn't seen her, since she left on maternity leave.

"Great thanks... um… where's Michael?" Jac asked him, to cut to the chase.

"Uh, I think he's still in theatre…" Sacha wasn't quite sure if Michael was done from theatre or not. He didn't quite understand why it was so urgent for Jac to see him.

Chrissie overheard what they were saying, and looked up from patients notes.

"No, he's done, I saw him walk into his office…" Chrissie said, looking at Jac.

"Thanks…" Jac immediately turned around and walked into Michael's office without even knocking.

…

"What's she doing here?" Chrissie whispered to Sacha, moving closer with her desk chair on wheels, as they both watched her walk into his office.

"To see Michael, I presume..." Sacha whispered back.

"Well done doctor… I can see that, but it was weird that she was in a rush to come to see him of all people… I told you so, something fishy is going on between those two…" Chrissie shared her thoughts, whispering.

"We can't say… maybe we got this all wrong… anyway, it's not really any of our business, is it?" Sacha told her, as he got up and left the desk.

…

Michael looked up from his desk, at Jac walking in with Mason.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked her, as she placed the car seat on the sofa. He was surprised to see her there, especially with Mason. It didn't mean anything, that Jac came to the hospital and brought Mason with her, but he thought many could easily assume something was going on, especially because she was not in scrubs. So he thought it was best, if Jac didn't come to see him on the ward, especially with her son. But she just turned up, there was nothing else to do.

"He missed you…" Jac told him. Michael walked up to the sofa and sat down beside the car seat, and looked over their son.

"Oh yeah, _he _missed me?" Michael asked her sarcastically.

Jac sat down on his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Michael was surprised, Jac was giving in to her feelings.

"okay fine… _we _missed you…" she told him, as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips, but pulled away, "Ugh, have you been smoking again?" Jac made a face.

"I told you, just occasionally…" Michael told her, and kissed her to stop the conversation.

"Anyway I was thinking…" Jac began as she pulled her lips away,

"If you want to bring a few things at my place, you're more than welcome… we could take this slow…" she told him slowly. Michael smiled at her comment, as she kissed him again. Still on his lap, he pressed her body against his, and ran his hand along her thigh.

"Mr Spence I…"

But there was no time to stop before Serena Campbell, pushed open the door and had enough time to witness, even half a minute of the moment. Jac and Michael unlocked lips, and looked at Serena in shame.

"Oh… sorry to barge in…" she trailed off as she walked out of the office.

"She saw us, didn't she?" Jac told Michael, panicked.

"Yeah, I'll go talk to her…" he replied as Jac got off his lap and he got up from the sofa.

"Serena! Wait!" Michael called out, reaching Serena not far from the side bay. Serena stopped and turned around, giving Michael a chance to talk to her.

"Listen… uh… what you saw in there? That was nothing…" Michael said slowly.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, Michael" Serena commented. She didn't want to know all the details.

"No, I don't want you to get the wrong idea of Jac. She isn't in a relationship with anyone at the moment…" Michael added.

"Michael, I don't want to know anything, it's none of my business, but don't worry, it's like I didn't see a thing. However all I can say is this. Keep your private life to yourself… and don't drag it onto the ward…" she told him as she turned and walked away.

…

In the meantime, as Michael was busy talking to Serena, Jac stayed in his office. She was sitting down beside Mason, when Michael's phone went off. She tried to follow the sound and search for it. It wasn't on his desk, the sound was coming from his coat, hanging on the back of his chair.

She reached out for it in his side pocket, and still ringing she pulled it out. It was Annalese. She left it ringing on the desk. But she also felt something else between her fingers.

She pulled out a small, plastic bag from the pocket. She looked at it, and the sight seemed familiar. It was cocaine, just as she found back in Florida. As she held it in her hands, Michael walked back into the office.

"Sorry about that, it's okay, she won't say a thing" Michael said, as he closed the door.

"What the hell is this doing in your pocket?" she snapped as she turned around, showing him the bag, "You told me you were going to come clean!"

Michael's face fell, "Yes I know… I'm sorry, I need more time, it's not easy to stop, you know! And keep it down, will you?!"

"Oh I'll keep it down alright, I'm not going to let a drug addict anywhere near my son!" she said angrily as she grabbed Mason in his car seat and was going to walk out of the office.

She turned around and added, "oh and by the way, about what we said earlier, I changed my mind, keep your things to yourself and don't bother calling!" and she stormed off.

"Jac, wait!" Michael knew it was for nothing. He leaped into his office chair and checked his phone. He noticed the missed call from Annalese, and then received a text. _'Lawyer meeting at 3pm. Don't forget. Be there.' _

'Great…' Michael thought as he slid his phone across the table. First Jac, and now this. His whole life was falling apart.

**_More to come. Thanks for your reviews so far x_**


	8. Fear of the Unexpected

_**This chapter is like a crossover with Casualty. Dr Tom Kent is paged and sent up to AAU from the ED.**_

Jac walked into the living room, back from shopping and checked any messages on her answering machine, just in case, it was something about work.

"_Hey. It's Michael… again… you're mad, I know and you have every right to be. If you're listening… just to let you know, I am trying really hard to change and start over. Can't wait to see you both again… give Mason a kiss, for me okay? Bye."_

Jac rolled her eyes, at Michael's voice on the phone. She pressed a key on her phone.

'_Message deleted.' _replied the answering machine's voice.

…

Michael sat at his desk, writing some notes, when he found the photo of Jac and baby Mason, lying amongst his documents. He hadn't framed it, for obvious reasons. He himself didn't know why, he kept it in his office and not at home… he was practically asking for trouble. He held it between his fingers and observed it closely.

It has been a few days since they last seen each other, since they last spoken to one another. All because of their argument they had last time, she visited his office. He had gotten rid of the cocaine he had left, just as he promised. He was struggling really, but he was trying. But still there was one problem… Jac wasn't answering his calls, she wasn't answering the door, whenever he went over.

He reached into his coat pocket and chucked in the bin, his last packet of cigarettes. He was willing to give everything up to see his son, and his… (well.. he wasn't sure if he could refer to Jac as girlfriend or partner) and Jac again.

In this moment of frustration, he was desperate to murder a cigarette and looked once again at the bin. But he tried to stay strong. He wanted to prove to Jac that he was willing to change and start over for her… well, for them both. Behind all his actions, there was a person with a heart full of love and strong feelings towards this new family of his.

…

Sacha left a patient's bed side and walked towards the desk, when suddenly the ward door of AAU opened, and Jac walked in, carrying Mason in her hands. She seemed to have been crying.

"Sacha! You've got to help me, please!" Jac yelled out, worried.

Sacha walked over to meet her half way.

"Oh my God, Jac… what's happened?" Sacha asked her as he met her and noticed Mason was crying his eyes out.

"It's Mason… I noticed a rash and he felt hot. I… I think he's got a fever. Then... all of a sudden he had a seizure…" Jac said between tears.

"Right… get him into the side bay," Sacha advised, "we'll get him checked out. I'll page Dr Tom Kent from the ED…"

While Jac walked into the side bay and placed her crying son on the stretcher, Sacha hurriedly walked over to the nurses' station and paged Tom.

…

In the meantime, Michael who was by a patient's bedside, heard all the noise, and recognised a familiar voice. It had to be Jac. He walked over to Sacha to get some answers. He couldn't see Jac in the side bay, just yet.

"Sacha what's going on? Was Jac here by any chance?" Michael asked him, curiously, leaning against the desk.

"Uh yeah… she just brought her son in… she's in the side bay…" Sacha tried to explain, but as soon as he mentioned Mason, Michael left the desk.

"What? What's wrong with him? I'll check him over," Michael said, walking hurriedly towards the side bay. Sacha walked up to him, reaching him, blocking the door.

"No you don't need to, Dr Kent is coming up from the ED, it's all taken care of…" Sacha told him, like they always do, when a patient comes in. They always split the work.

"No Sacha, you don't understand, just let me check him out…" Michael trying to peep through the window, to see Jac and Mason crying on the table.

"No honestly its fine, Michael, we've got it…" Sacha kept persisting,

"Sacha, move, I need to see him… he's my son!" Michael said, raising his voice a little.

Sacha was stunned at the news. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear such thing. "Oh… right… go on then," obviously after hearing this, he let him in.

…

Michael walked in to find Jac, taking his temperature. Jac turned around and once she saw it was Michael, she didn't really appreciate it.

"What do you want?" Jac said coldly, as she gave him her back and turned again to Mason.

"What's wrong with him, Jac?" Michael was trying to get some answers.

"I just took his temperature, he's got a fever, and a rash… I got worried, I brought him straight here.." Jac explained.

"What?!" Michael replied slowly, he was shocked at the news.

At that moment Tom walked into the room.

"Hello. What do we got here?" Tom asked Jac as he looked over Mason.

"He's had a rash and a seizure… his temperature is spiking…" Jac told him.

"Right…" Tom added, checking him over, "Okay… we'll do a blood test, and… I know this may alarm you, but we'll do a lumbar puncture, you know… to rule out certain illnesses…" Tom explained.

"You're thinking it's meningitis aren't you?" Jac asked, almost in tears. She was a doctor too after all.

Tom didn't want to get her worrying, "Look, let's not jump to conclusions… Ms Naylor, why don't you want outside, while we take the tests? and then we'll see the results, it could be just an infection…"

"No, I want to stay…" Jac wanted to see the procedure.

"No Jac, come on, let's go outside" Michael tried to calm her down and led her outside.

"Don't touch me!" Jac almost yelled at him, when Michael took hold of her arm to lead her outside.

"Let's go to my office, we need to talk…" Michael suggested. Jac has been ignoring his calls and messages over the past few days. Now was his chance to talk to her. She had nowhere to go; she was going to be there a while.

_**To be continued...**_

**_What do you think is going to happen next? All reviews are appreciated. Thanks x_**


	9. Fear of the Unexpected Part 2

_**First of all, sorry for the delay. So in this chapter, the sort of crossover continues, Dr Tom Kent from Casualty appears once again.**_

_**A/N: I know Jac may a bit OOC in this because of all the emotional bits, so to make it real enough, think of her crying, emotional scenes in her big Series 12 episode 'What Goes Around' and imagine her crying in this as somewhere on those lines.**_

Jac walked into the office followed by Michael, closing the door behind him. Jac stood still, "There's nothing to talk about!" she said slowly, folding her arms.

"Yes there is…" Michael added, facing her, "I messed up I know! But we can't keep living like this!"

"It's the best for all of us…" Jac replied, slowly, and sat down on the sofa in his office.

"You don't mean that!" he told her convincingly as he sat down beside her, "I deserve another chance…"

"No, alright? I meant what I said last time… it's over…" she said, again slowly.

"Jac please…" he told her, trying to place his left arm on her shoulder.

"Get your hands off me!" shaking her upper body, implying she didn't want any physical contact with him. "Our son is in hospital… we don't know what's wrong with him and you think, that now, is the right time to talk about, us?!" she almost yelled, and then burst into tears.

"That's what I'm saying… we need to stick together, to be there for him… together…" Michael said slowly in order not to scare her away.

"There is no us Michael… there never has been…" she talked from the heart, with tears rolling down her face.

"You don't know what you're talking about right now…" Michael tried to reassure himself that Jac was talking nonsense.

"yes I do…" the tears haven't stopped. She had too much on her mind already, "Michael we are in this mess all because of Florida…"

"Jac… this is not a mess… Florida made us realise that we could have something together…" Michael tried his best shot at trying to hold her hand in his, but she instantly pulled it away.

"No that's not true…" she turned facing him now, and wiping the tears off her cheeks, "okay let's put it this way, if we hadn't gone to Florida, would you have slept with me anyway?" Jac asked him looking in his eyes.

Michael paused for a moment, he was lost for words, he didn't know how to reply. Jac wasn't talking completely false. If they hadn't gone to Florida together, he didn't know if they would've had a chance together. He looked away.

"Look Jac, I can't say what might've happened… but I do know, is that you're a big part of my life now, don't forget, we have a son together, and I'm not willing to let you go…" he explained slowly. This time he grabbed her hand and she let him.

Jac looked down. She knew he was right, their son will always tie them together. But it was the only bond that will keep them alive.

"I know we have a son, and we can't change that now, but us.. it's never going to work out Michael, we have to face facts…" she said, now looking at him again, still her hand in his, "we are only together because of Mason, nothing else," Jac said in tears, as she stood up to leave.

"No wait, " as he got up behind her and got hold of her arm, Michael was also in tears now, "I already lost one family, and it was all my fault, I can't go through that again, I want to make it better this time…please…" Michael pleaded in tears.

Jac with her eyes red, crying about Mason and now this, she had her mind blown with all these thoughts. She stood still looking at him, in tears, still with Michael holding her by her arm, until she finally opened her mouth to speak, "…I'm sorry" she said slowly, as she turned away.

"Jac please…" he told her, pulling her arm forcing her to turn around again and pulling her body closer to his, "I love you!" he blurted out.

They were standing only a few inches apart. Jac was stunned to hear Michael say such a thing, "what?!" she said slowly, almost whispering, barely opening her mouth.

"I… I love you… I really do…" he told her slowly and seeing that she was completely speechless, he slowly leaned in, towards her lips.

Jac on the other hand as she felt his nose touch hers, and felt his breathing on her face, her heart started beating hard and stronger than ever, he still turned her on, that was no lie. She angled her face in a way to respond to his touch.

But just as their lips were about to touch, they heard a quick knock on the door and Tom appeared poking his head around the door. Jac came to her senses again and realised why she was really here at the hospital. Both Jac and Michael pulled away from each other to give Tom the impression that nothing was going on.

"Uh sorry to interrupt…" began Tom, who had an idea of what might have been going on. He held a small paper up in the air, between his fingers, "Mason's results are back"

"Uh come in.." Michael asked him politely, as Tom entered and closed the door behind him. Jac and Michael stood next to each other to hear what Tom had to say. They were both too nervous to sit down.

"I'm sorry, are you the father?" Tom asked Michael politely. He couldn't have known.

"Uh, yeah… yeah I am…" Michael replied, giving a look to Jac.

"Right… I don't want this to sound too alarming, but our suspicions have been confirmed… it is meningitis.." Tom said slowly, not to panic them. Jac in a gasp, placed her hand on her mouth, with her eyes getting all teary again.

"But it's viral not bacterial, he will need plenty of rest, lots of fluids... Looks like he's going to be here for quite a number of days, I'm so sorry" Tom added, slowly.

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Jac asked him worried. Michael took the opportunity and put his arm around her on her shoulder.

"Ms Naylor we'll do everything we can, we're moving him to the intensive care unit on paeds…" Tom said slowly.

Jac couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into tears and Michael as the gentleman he was, he let her fall crying into his arms and cuddled her tightly.

"I should get back" he turned to give them some space alone.

"Hey, hey, shhhh" he said quietly, stroking the back of her hair as she sobbed heavily on his chest, "the doctors are doing everything they can, everything's going to be just fine…" he added as he didn't let go of her. He was willing to do everything he could to get her and his son back.

_**What do you want to happen next? Should they get together again? Shouldn't they? **_

_**All ideas and reviews are appreciated. Thank you for all your support so far x**_


	10. The Need for Comfort

A week later Jac was sitting in ICU watching over her son, in an incubator. She took some time off… for once in her life she was in no mood to keep on working. Mason was progressing and responding to the antibiotics but still he wasn't well enough to go home. He was still ill and vulnerable.

Breaking the silence in the room, apart from the beeping machines, the door opened and someone walked inside. Jac didn't turn around and look, she assumed it was a nurse, she kept looking at her son. This someone grabbed hold of a swivel chair and sat beside her. It was Michael.

Jac looked up at him, then looked down again, "What do you want?" she asked him coldly.

"Uh, to see Mason? He is my son too you know, and I may not be showing it but this is painful for me too…" he added slowly.

"Since when do you care?" Jac said slowly, still not looking at him.

"What's that supposed to mean? I never stopped caring about you, him…" Michael replied.

"Yeah right… if you really cared about us… you would've made an effort to come clean…" she said, still talking slowly.

"Jac I did try alright? I got rid of all my cigarettes… and other… stuff… what else do you want me to do? Please tell, whatever it is I'll do it!" Michael pleaded.

"I'm not doing this here!" Jac ignored his wish and stood up to leave, "Bye baby…" she said softly as she placed her fingers on the incubator, and left the room, leaving Michael on his own.

…

Jac headed up to Darwin, even though she was not on duty. She walked into her office and locked the door. She burst into tears as she sat herself on the sofa. She held her head in her hands, but she soon felt the door open. She looked up confused, to see Jonny poking his head around the door from Elliot's side. She only locked one.

"Hey didn't know you were in today… I'm just gonna put these on Elliot's desk…" he knew about why she was taking time off. He placed the notes on Elliot' desk and as he was about to leave, he felt like he had to ask her.

"So how's.. um… Mason doing?" he asked her slowly, as he sat down beside her.

Jac didn't answer, the tears started streaming down her face again.

"Oh come here… don't cry…" he told her softly as he placed his hand around her shoulder and let her head rest on his chest. He took the opportunity to comfort her. He laid eyes on her the day he arrived on Darwin, but never made the next step to take it to the next level… and was kind of gutted that she ended up with Michael and his baby.

She lifted her head up and finally had the courage to speak, "he responded to the meds but still, seeing him, lying there helpless, alone… I can't do anything to help him… what kind of doctor does that make me? I can't even help my own son…"

Still stroking her hair Jonny added, "Hey don't blame yourself, you're his mum, not his doctor, he has other qualified people to take care of him and I'm sure they'll do everything they can to make him better…"

"I can't take this anymore…" she said crying, as she lifted up her face and faced him, "I just wish this will all be over soon…"

"And it will be… don't give up, you just need hope…" he added to calm her down as he faced her too.

And as their eyes met, they both leaned in and touched lips, all for comfort. Jonny didn't pull away, in fact he responded deeply to her touch, giving in to the feelings he built towards her ever since he stepped on Darwin, well technically from the people skill's course.

But Jac soon pulled away.

"Sorry I didn't mean to…" Jonny apologised.

"Don't worry about it… I should get back" Jac said slowly, as she stood up from the sofa and left the room, as if nothing ever happened.

_**There's more coming! All reviews are appreciated! Thank you xx**_


	11. Moving on?

**_I know this is a bit short and I usually write more, but I promise you there's more coming in the next chapter ;)_**

A couple of weeks later, Jac got the news she wanted to hear. The consultant informed her that Mason was meningitis free and was in perfect health to go home.

She was alone with him on the ward when she was told the good news. She would've taken him home herself, but then she thought it was inappropriate not to tell Michael the good news.

"Hey Michael, it's me… the consultant just told me, Mason is fit to take him home, they're going to discharge him…" she explained briefly but Michael soon cut her off.

"My God that's wonderful, I'm free from theatre, I'll take you home, just give me a couple of…" Michael was ecstatic.

"Michael you don't need to, I can drive myself…" Jac didn't need his help.

"Oh come on, I'm not gonna let you take him on your own, I'll meet you up there, in an hour, wait for me…. Please…" Michael pleaded.

"Fine then…" Jac told him coldly, as she hung up.

…

Jac unlocked her front door and Michael followed her in, carrying Mason. Jac warmed up his bottle of milk for his next feed and was about to give it to him, before she puts him down for his nap.

"May I?" Michael asked, holding out his hands, implying he wished to feed Mason himself. He wanted to show her he wanted to be involved.

Jac thought he was going to drop them off and leave, but then again, she appreciated his effort.

"Sure…" she replied as she handed the bottle over.

Just as Michael made himself comfortable feeding Mason, sitting on the sofa, they heard the doorbell. Jac wasn't expecting any visitors, she walked up to the door to see who it was.

She opened the door and to her surprise, she found Jonny standing on her doorstep.

"Jonny, what are you doing here?" she asked astonished.

"I just thought I'd stop by and say hello… plus I bought us lunch…" he said as he lifted up the brown bag to show her.

"I'm flattered but…" Jac started, but Michael soon cut her off.

"Jac who is it?" he asked her as he met her at the door, carrying Mason.

Jonny wasn't expecting to see Michael.

"We brought Mason home today… I just found out, I couldn't have told you earlier… Michael brought me home…" Jac tried to explain.

"Right… well I'll give you some space, I'll leave you to it…" Jonny said slowly.

"Thanks, I'll call you, yeah?" Jac asked, feeling all awkward in front of Michael.

"Right…" Jonny said, as he walked up and kissed her on the cheek before he left.

…

"What was that all about?" Michael asked Jac as they walked back inside as she closed the door.

"It's nothing…" Jac tried to run away from the confrontation.

"There seems like there was something…" Michael told her, as he put Mason down for a nap.

"I'm not having this conversation now… now if you mind, thanks for the lift home, but I need some rest… we've been through enough…" Jac told him, implying she wanted him to leave her and Mason alone.

"Fine, I'll see you…" Michael said as he left her house.

He sat in his car, but didn't start the engine. He sat there thinking. There was definitely something going on between Jac and Jonny… that needless to say he was indeed jealous about, even if he didn't show it. The thought that Jac was going to move on with someone else, scared him… and he was willing to do something about it.

**_Thoughts or feedback? reviews help me keep writing, I would love to know what you think! Thank you X_**


	12. Desires

**_Okay so I'm rating just this chapter 'M' because of reference to scenes of intimacy and related language._**

Jac was going through the shelves in the supplies closet in the basement to find a box filled with new, sealed injections, when she heard the door open and close again. She realised someone had walked in. She turned around to see Michael. She ignored the fact that he was there, turned around and kept looking for what she needed.

"Didn't know I'd find you in here…" Michael began, as he walked up to the same shelf Jac was going through and stood beside her, looking for something he needed too.

"We've ran out of injections in the cupboard on the ward…" Jac tried to keep it cool between them, but because Mason is here now, they'll always have him to bind them together. Jac couldn't simply let go and forget everything.

"Hey, I was thinking if I could come and visit Mason tonight… or have you got plans with a certain someone?" Michael added to his suggestion, sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact, I do have plans, but since you're offering, you could come over and save me the cost of a baby sitter…" she said smiling, as she turned to face him.

"Ah… so it's Jonny's turn now, huh?" Michael had to drop the bombshell.

"Yes, and it's going very well, thank you," Jac added, as she turned and rummaged through more stuff.

"Admit it Jac, you're only with him, because you haven't got over me yet and you can't even accept it yourself…" Michael told her, looking at her.

"oh pathetic!" Jac told him, as she faced him and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, I bet even the sex isn't as good…" Michael wasn't going to give up on this conversation.

"I don't see how it's any of your business, but you might as well know… a million times better for that matter," Jac tried to say convincingly, looking at Michael.

"So… what? You're saying I'm not good enough in bed for you?" Michael said as he lowered his voice and made one step forward, looking her in the eye. They were only inches apart now.

"I honestly have no words… you tell me…" Jac told him, feeling awkward with their physical closeness.

"How about I show you instead…" Michael said leaning forward, almost whispering, until his lips met hers. He took a chance and kissed her, and to his surprise instead of pushing him away, she responded to his touch. She didn't admit it but deep down, she missed the touch of his warm lips on hers, of their tongues working together. He moved down from her lips and started kissing her neck. She pushed him off of her, much to Michael's dismay… he thought the moment was over.

But Jac, looking him in the eye, grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him, further inside the closet, until they were at the back between two high supplies racks. She started unbuttoning his shirt and removed her top and locked lips once again, before they both fell to the floor.

…

They lay together on nothing but two towels, until Jac moved Michael off her body and started getting dressed.

"Where are you going?" Michael asked confused, "I thought we were having a great time…"

"You seem to forget we're in a store cupboard at work… we were lucky no one caught us, anyone could walk in," Jac said as she buttoned her shirt. Michael did the same.

"Oh come on, anyone rarely comes down here," Michael added.

"But we did, right? Look we need to get back," Jac said as she stood up, "and THIS never happened, okay?" Jac told him as she looked him in the eye and left the room, leaving Michael stunned by her words. Still, he had a plan to win her back and he wasn't going to give up on it.

…

The doorbell to Jonny's apartment rang. Jonny walked up to the door and found Jac behind the door.

"Hey…" Jac said as she saw him, smiling, holding a wine bottle in her hands.

"Hey come on in…" Jonny told her as he made way for her to enter.

As soon as she stepped inside, Jac took off her coat to reveal her black tight, knee-length dress.

"Wow you look… you sure knew how to get rid of that excess baby weight!" Jonny exclaimed as he admired her figure. He was right, Mason was only 4 months old but Jac's body soon came back pretty much to normal after birth.

"Thanks"… for the first time in her life, Jac felt quite new at this, like she was still a teenager.

Jonny put down some wine glasses and some nibbles on the coffee table, as Jac made herself comfortable on the sofa.

"I had wine you know…" Jonny told her, implying she hadn't need to bring any with her.

"Don't worry, I saved this for a special occasion…" Jac commented, as she took off her shoes and curled her feet up on the sofa.

"Ah so this is a special occasion now…" Jonny added, smiling at her. He put the disc in the DVD player while Jac poured two glasses of wine.

Jonny sat down beside her on the sofa while the beginning movie credits and Jac handed him the glass. Jonny moved closer to Jac, and did the traditional yawn while he elevated his arm and placed it resting on the sofa but over Jac's shoulder.

"We're not teenagers you know, you don't need to be afraid to touch me, I thought we've skipped the friendzone…" Jac told him, as she looked at him.

"If you wanted me to get close to you, all you had to do was say it, I could've just done this…" Jac said as she lowered her voice and leaned in and kissed him.

They broke apart but only to put down the glasses on the coffee table. They kissed again, but when Jonny was about to push her over on her back and he would be lying on top of her, Jac's phone went off. She received a text.

…

Michael had just giving Mason his bottle, and when he put him down to sleep and sat down on Jac's sofa all alone, he took out his phone. He started flipping through the images saved on his phone. Apart from the hundreds he had of his kids, it was also filled now with another bunch of Jac and Mason.

He just had to do something, so he pressed the text message app on his phone and decided to send her a text.

…

Jac looked at her phone flashing on the table, but Jonny kept kissing her lips.

"Leave it…" he told her in between kisses.

"I can't" she said, as she pushed him off of her, "It could be the babysitter telling me something about Mason…" What Jac didn't tell Jonny though was that Michael was sitting Mason for the night, she thought it would be better that way.

She got up from the sofa and opened the text. It was from Michael, exactly as she suspected but not entirely the words she had in mind.

'_I can't stop thinking about today. I want you x'_

Jac had forgotten about that moment in the store cupboard that morning. She was stunned to read those words. In a weird way, she started to remember how she too, had a great time with Michael.

But her thoughts were soon interrupted when Jonny peeped over her shoulder from behind and started kissing her neck. Jac closed the application quickly.

"Something wrong?" Jonny asked her, in between kisses.

"No it's fine," Jac said as she locked lips again and threw the phone out of the way.

But just as Jonny was lying on top of her again and moved down from her lips onto her chest, Jac pushed him over once again.

"Oh not again! You're killing me here!" Jonny told her pleading, implying it was too late to control his desires.

"Um sorry, I can't do this," she told him as she got up and zipped the side of her dress, "I'm not feeling very well…"

"What do you mean? You were fine like ten minutes ago!" Jonny asked confused, as he zipped his trousers.

"It could be the wine, I'm feeling a bit light headed…" Jac told him as she put on her shoes and coat. She was indeed lying, she had that text from Michael on her mind.

"You only had half a glass!" Jonny couldn't understand her.

"I know, it could simply be because I'm tired, I had a long day… look I'll head home for the night, and I'll call you yeah?" she told him as she headed for the door.

Jonny didn't say a word, "I'm sorry" Jac said politely and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Jonny on the other hand didn't kiss her back, he let her go and closed the door behind her.

…

Michael almost dozed off on Jac's sofa when he heard Jac's key through the door lock. He was surprised when he saw her entering the living room.

"You know for a minute I thought someone was breaking in… why are you home so early?" Michael asked confused.

"I… wasn't feeling very well" Jac lied, as she took off her coat. Michael was turned on by her lovely dress underneath but decided to leave that one go.

"You're lying, I can tell…" Michael said, smiling, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's true, now if you don't mind…thank you for looking after Mason, but I'm here now so you can go, I'll head off to bed…" Jac told him, pushing him out of the room like kids.

"You kept thinking about me the whole time didn't you?" Michael said as she turned around to face her.

"Huh no!" Jac gave out the good old lying laugh.

"Liar…" Michael said quietly as he made one step forward to her.

"Hypocrite…" Jac replied back and stood still.

"Two-timer…" he whispered as again made another tiny step forward, they were only less than an inch apart now. He could feel Jac breathing heavily on his face, feeling slightly intimidated by his closeness.

"Toxic…" she whispered into his face, and at the time she didn't know what came over her. He touched her lips and she responded passionately.

But she soon came to her senses and pushed him away, "I think you should leave…" she said quietly, not looking at him.

"Jac please…" Michael pleaded, making another step forward.

"No I can't do this to Jonny, I can't cheat on him…" she said with her eyes filling up with tears.

"Cheat on him?! You're not even in a relationship together for God's sake!" Michael said in quite a high tone.

"Oh so you think it's just sex between me and him?" Jac almost yelled at him too.

"Well I wouldn't act surprised if it was…" Michael muttered, but Jac couldn't take it any longer. He angered her at that moment, causing her to reach out her hand and slap him across his face.

"How dare you?!" she yelled at him, "look whatever we had, it's over, if we had anything after all… just get that into your head!"

"Oh so… we have a child together and it was just sex between us? And now Jonny comes along, and it's a relationship?!" Michael yelled at her, but just because he was hurt, "Jac I love you!"

"Please leave…" Jac said quietly, in tears, looking at the floor. Michael gave up, there was nothing left to do except leave as she told him.

Jac closed the door behind him and as she locked it, she turned around resting her back against the door and sobbed heavily as she slid down and fell to the floor.

**_Please share your thoughts. All reviews are appreciated. Thank you x_**


	13. Mixed Emotions

Jac was seated at her desk in her office, looking at Michael's texts on her phone.

Her heart still skips a beat every time his name pops up on her screen. So how could she tell him it was over? She herself, didn't know the answer to that question. It was like her mind was telling her that Michael wasn't the family man she was looking for, but on the other hand, her heart was saying otherwise. 'So what does this mean?' she thought. 'Could it be love?'

It was in between all these thoughts that her office door opened, and Jonny walked in, holding some documents. Jac immediately put her phone away.

"Here are Mrs Turner's blood results… turns out she's not anaemic after all…" he told her, as he placed the notes in front of her, on top of her paper work.

"Right, that's good then… thank you…" Jac ended implying his job is done and he should leave.

But as Jonny turned to leave the room, he turned to Jac again and went on, "I was expecting you to call, you know…"

"Yes right, I tried but things kept getting in the way and it kind of slipped out… you do realize I have a ward to run…" Jac lied, she didn't call because she had Michael on her mind.

"Let me make it up to you… tonight, my place at 8pm?" Jac offered.

"Are you serious?" Jonny was surprised.

"Yes of course I am, and I'll even let Mason spend the night over at Michael's place, he hasn't seen him in a while and he would love to spend some time with him…" Jac explained.

"So this means we'll have all the place to ourselves?" Jonny said grinning, as he walked up to her and leaned into her, resting his arms on the desk.

"Indeed…" she told him, playfully as they shared a quick kiss, "and don't take this as a habit, no physical contact in my office or on the ward, remember here you're the nurse and I'm your boss.." Jac made that clear to him.

"Yes master…" he joked, as he left the room.

…

Jac gave herself a quick look in the mirror before she opened her front door, to find Jonny on her doorstep.

She pulled him inside by his jacket and kissed him hard as he responded.

"Wait wait! I thought we were going to have dinner first…" Jonny said, catching his breath, "you're not hungry?"

"Oh I am," Jac said playfully as she grinned and kissed him again, "you better hurry upstairs before I eat you up…" she teased.

"Sweet!" Jonny said delighted, as he took her hand and both ran up the stairs.

….

"I'm really happy we've got back together…" Michael said, with his arms wrapped around Jac under the sheets.

"Really?" Jac asked, looking him in the eye, lying beneath him.

"I've never been happier in my life…" Michael said slowly, as they locked lips again.

…

"in my life… life… life…" the words echoed in her head before Jac woke up, scared as she sat up in bed the next morning. She looked to her side, and saw Jonny sleeping peacefully. So it wasn't Michael she spent the night with then, it was Jonny.

'What the hell's happening?' she was confused, she couldn't understand her feelings.

She got out of bed and dressed herself and left a note on her pillow for Jonny to find when he woke up.

'_something about Mason popped up as I woke up and had to run off… Sorry. J x'_

…

Michael had no idea who could be at the door at 7 in the morning. He got out of bed, and yawning opened his front door. He was surprised to see Jac standing in front of him.

"Jac why are you here so early?" Michael asked, still sleepy.

"I came to check on Mason and I thought I'd might as well take him home…" Jac lied, again.

"Come in, but he's stil sleeping you know, he cried almost all night and only went to sleep like 2 hours ago, it would be a shame to wake him up…" he told her as he led her into the living room and kitchen.

Jac sat down on his sofa. Michael, without asking, made her a coffee.

"so… was your night any fun?" he asked as he handed her the mug. He knew Jonny was going over to her place.

"let's put it this way… I left Jonny sleeping in my bed, in my house, and I'm here at 7am at your place…" she said, slowly.

"Jac, what the hell's going on with you right now?" Michael asked looking at her, sitting close to her.

"I honestly don't know… I mean Jonny and I, we have something great going but…." And stopped at her words.

"But not as great as us…" he continued the sentence for her.

"well you said it, not me…" she replied, in a low tone after a pause.

"Jac admit it… you love me…" he told her, looking at her in the eye and she did the same, "you miss us… and I do too…" he added.

They looked at each other for a moment, until Michael leaned in and Jac did the same. Just as they were centimeters apart and were about to touch, they heard Mason crying from upstairs.

"I'll go get him…" Michael told her as he left Jac's side.

…

"Look mummy's here!" Michael told Mason in a sweet voice, as he handed him over to Jac.

"There's my baby!" Jac said as she kissed Mason's cheeks.

"Listen thanks for looking after him, but I should get going…" Jac told Michael as she put Mason in his pram and picked up the baby bag to leave.

"Why don't you give him his milk, here?" Michael suggested.

"Uh no, Jonny's still at home anyway, I better get there before he wakes up…" Jac said looking at him.

"I'll see you…" she said as she smiled at him, and kissed him on the cheek. They stood still for a moment, standing so close breathing on each other, until Michael moved his face and landed on her lips. He kissed her briefly and let her go. Jac smiled at him and left.


	14. Dirty Affair

"How come your theatre list has been passed on to Mr Hope?" Jonny asked Jac as he entered her office, where he saw her standing doing last minute checks on patient notes. She seemed she was heading somewhere.

"Because I won't be on Darwin for the rest of the day, I'm needed on Keller for a GS/CT consult," Jac explained, as she put her pager in her scrub shirt pocket.

"Right, so… I'll see you later then, after our shift… meet me at…" but Jac cut off Jonny's words.

"You know, don't wait for me today, I might stay a couple of extra hours so it's best not to keep you waiting… I'll find a lift home don't worry…" Jac told him. They had come together that morning with the same car.

"Alright then… I shall see you tomorrow then…" Jonny told her as he walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

…

"You needed me…" Jac commented playfully, as she entered Michael Spence's office on Keller and closed the door behind her.

"You know I have needs…" he told her, smiling, sitting behind his desk.

"Don't we all…" Jac teased again, as she sat on his desk. Michael slided against the floor on his swivel chair to place himself exactly infront of Jac, seated above him on his desk.

"You're a naughty girl aren't you?" Michael played along as he slided his hands up her thigh.

"Uh… not here!" Jac told him as she gave him a small slap on his palm, "looks like I'm not only the naughty school girl here…. Now what have we got?" she asked him as she stood up and looked at the notes.

"I've got a patient with an aortic aneurysm, but I'd thought you'd have a listen to her heart, then assist me in theatre if there is any problems…" Michael explained as he also stood up.

"Let's go and meet her then," Jac said as she took hold of the file and opened the door to emerge with Michael following.

….

Jac was washing her hands after surgery and as she put her surgical gown in the disposable basket, Michael joined her side by the sink.

"What are you having for lunch?" Michael asked her as he turned on the tap.

"Think I'll skip lunch, thought I'd head back to the office and do some paperwork," Jac replied, removing her hair cap.

"Because I thought if you're not that busy, we could go for a drive somewhere and have lunch together…" he said as he lowered his voice to the suggestion, a scrub nurse walked by.

"Mhmm, well my paper work can wait…" Jac smiled at the suggestion.

"Perfect, meet me on the other side of the hospital at 12.15pm" Michael said as he winked at her and left the room.

…

After their drive they parked the car, near the woods, away from the hospital grounds. Michael sitting in the passenger seat with Jac on top of him, in a passionate embrace, wasn't something to be seen by the public eye.

"Wait wait…" he told her as they broke apart, "we're not using anything?" Michael worried.

"I am on the pill you know…" Jac told him, with her hands wrapped around his neck, and kissed him again.

"One more thing…" Michael broke off again.

"Oh for the love of… what now?" Jac was getting frustrated.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Michael wanted her so badly, but he was worried about Jonny, he didn't want to get into any trouble but then again it was a bit too late for that.

"I'm sitting on top of you in your car in the middle of nowhere, and you think I'm not sure? ...Look enough with the chit-chat, now lie back, we only got 15 minutes, tops!" she told him as she kissed him again and lowered the seat backwards.

…

"Thanks for the lift home… um, do you want to come in? you could see Mason and have dinner if you like?" Jac suggested, before she opened Michael's car door. After their lunch delight, they continued their shift and Michael offered to take her home.

"Well since you're offering I wouldn't say no to that," Michal replied, smiling.

"Hey little man!" Michael exclaimed as he saw the nanny walking up to them to handle over Mason. He took hold of his son and walked into the kitchen, with Jac following.

"I'm not the one who cooked… hope you like it," she told him as she placed two plates of chicken and rice on the dining table.

"It's okay, don't worry about me…" Michael told her as he put Mason down and joined her at the table.

After dinner, Jac put the dishes in the dish washer, and tidied up the place.

"Listen, I'm off upstairs to have a shower, then I might hit the bed early… do you… want to stay?" Jac asked slowly.

"Ah so we are having dessert after all?" Michael said grinning, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"No that's not what I'm saying… besides I think you had enough dessert for one day… what I'm saying is, you can sleep over and even in my bed if you like…" Jac explained clearly.

"Sure, I understand…" Michael told her as he kissed her on the lips.

…

As soon as Jac came out of the shower wrapped up in her night dress and robe, she found Michael lying on her bed.

"I see you made yourself comfortable…" Jac told him, as she switched off the lights and climbed into bed beside him.

"Yeah I took a shower down stairs so I wouldn't have to wait for you…" Michael said.

"Listen it's not that I'm using you or anything, it's just that I don't want our relationship to be based only on sex…" Jac told him, as she turned on her side to face him.

"Ah so it is a relationship now?" Michael asked her, as he turned on his side as well.

"Are you objecting?" Jac asked confused.

"No of course not… it would make me the happiest man on earth…" he said, stroking her arm.

"Don't flatter yourself…" Jac told him as she made a face, "anyway my point is, I just want someone to hold me… "

"Aw come here," Michael told her, as he pulled her close and Jac rested her head on his chest.

"you know this is our first proper night together… sleeping in one bed without doing anything…" Jac pointed out.

"I know… I'm going to be here for you, for Mason, for us as a family" he added, stroking her hair, as they lay close together in the dark.

"That sounds divine, but… there's one problem…" Jac said quietly.

"What?" Michael couldn't understand.

"Jonny… how am I going to tell him?" Jac worried, "I don't want to hurt his feelings…"

"But you're going to hurt him even more, if you're going to keep hiding it from him…" Michael warned her.

"I know… but I just need to find the right time, the right words…" Jac didn't know what to do.

"I know how it's like but you can't keep leading him on, you have to tell him sooner or later…" Michael had a point.

"You're right… I will try and do it as soon as I get the chance, but now let's get some sleep shall we?" she said as she propped up her head and gave him a quick kiss.

"Goodnight," she told him as she lay into his arms again.

.

…

The next morning, Jac felt someone move beside her and turned around to face Michael. She gave him a sweet kiss on his lips to wake him up.

"Rise and shine…" she said quietly, smiling at him as he opened his eyes.

"Oh it definitely is with you by my side…" he said, as he kissed her again. Michael sent a tingle down Jac's spine every time they touched. She kissed him back and they soon ended up groping each other again.

They were in the middle of this passionate embrace when Jac heard the doorbell…


	15. Moment of Truth

Michael pulled away, "Who could that be at this time?" It was only 7am.

"How should I know? I'm not expecting anyone…" Jac said as she moved off him. She got out of bed and drew back a bit of the curtain and peeped out of the window to see who it could be.

"Oh my God!" Jac exclaimed as she closed the curtain again, "It's Jonny…" she said stunned.

"Well ignore him, pretend you're not here, that you left already…" Michael whispered.

"I can't, I think he saw me," Jac said quickly. It was the doorbell again. She headed to the stairs but Michael reminded her of something.

"Put something else on," Michael suggested. She was only wearing her satin night dress.

"Good point… and you, stay in here, try not to make a sound," Jac put on her comfy white dressing gown, and went downstairs.

...

"Jonny! …What are you doing here? So early?" Jac asked him, as she opened and stood at the door.

"Thought I'd stop by and have breakfast together, and then we'll be off to work… so are you going to invite me in or… ?" Jonny thought Jac was going to leave him on her doorstep.

"Oh, but as you can see, I still need to get ready, plus we're already late as it is…" Jac tried to get rid of him.

"Oh don't worry then, I'll wait for you, then we'll grab a coffee on our way in, like we usually do…" Jonny suggested, as he made his way inside.

As Jonny walked into the living room with Jac behind him, Jac gave a quick look around the place to see that no trace was there to indicate but Michael's presence.

His black coat was lying on the back of the sofa, it was hard not to notice it. But there was nothing so noticeable in a plain, black coat, that it belongs to a male and not a female. That was ignored.

But as Jonny was about to grab a chair and sit down at the dining table, Michael's wallet in the middle of the table was hard not to see.

"Whose is that wallet? Not yours obviously…" Jonny asked.

"Oh yeah, Michael stopped by to see Mason last night and left it behind him I guess… I'll give it to him…" she said, as she grabbed the wallet to put it away. But that was probably the biggest mistake she could do.

Underneath the wallet, there were lying also his car and house keys.

"So he left his keys too? How did he get home then?" Jonny asked confused, as soon as he saw them.

"Um…." Jac tried to think, she couldn't say she dropped him off, it was ridiculous of a lie.

Jonny looked at her, waiting for an answer, "wait a minute…" Jonny said slowly. He looked around the room. The black coat caught his eye.

"you never leave your black coat lying around…" Jonny said as he walked over to the sofa and grabbed hold of it. Underneath it, were Michael's day clothes from the day before. Jonny stopped talking, as his eyes widened, as he looked at them. Jac had no way out now.

"I think I know exactly what's going on…" Jonny said in a low but quite angry tone, as he ran upstairs.

"Jonny wait!" Jac yelled as she ran up after him.

...

Jonny without much thinking, immediately made his way into Jac's bedroom. Michael didn't have a choice, he had no where to hide. As Jonny opened the door and saw Michael with no shirt on, he was furious than ever.

"You sleazy son of a…" he exclaimed as he ran up to him and was about to punch him in the face.

"No, no, stop it!" Jac yelled as she held Jonny back and stood in between to keep them away from each other.

She turned to Jonny, "It's not what it looks like, nothing happened!" that wasn't entirely a lie, it was true, nothing happened… _that _night.

"Oh really? How dumb to you think I am?" needless to say, Jonny was furious.

"We didn't mean for you to find out like this…" Jac said slowly, as Michael put a shirt on.

"Oh really? When were you gonna tell me then, huh? Or then again, maybe you weren't gonna tell me and keep leading me on…" Jonny said, heartbroken, as he made his way out of the room.

"No wait!" Jac called out after him as he headed downstairs and Jac ran after him "I was going to tell you… I just didn't know how…"

"Oh poor you… my heart bleeds for you, it really does…" Jonny acted, as he put on his coat.

"Jonny wait, we need to talk about this!" Jac exclaimed as she placed her hand on his arm.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Jonny yelled, angry, as he shook it off him and walked out of the front door and slammed the door behind him.

Jac was stunned; she expected he would be mad but not all this. She was lucky enough Jonny and Michael didn't end up in a huge brawl. But she wasn't going to end it like this, she was going to make sure, Jonny hears what she has to say.


End file.
